15 killed, several injured in Hangu suicide attack
Attack targets headquarters of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Mullah Nabi Hanfi group.
Attack targets headquarters of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Mullah Nabi Hanfi group. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
HANGU:
A suicide bomber ran a vehicle full of explosives into the headquarters of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Mullah Nabi Hanafi group in the Spin Tall region of Hangu, Express News reported on Thursday.
The blast killed 15 of the group's members and injured several others.
The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for medical assistance.
The headquarters building collapsed due to the explosion and the compound was badly destroyed.
A senior government official told AFP that clashes erupted when fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked militant commander Hanafi's house.
"Militants from the Hanafi group, two attackers and a suicide bomber were killed. About 20 others along with two women have been injured," the official in Orakzai told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The attack began with a suicide bomber detonating a car bomb outside the compound, followed by militants launching an assault with guns.
TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed the attack.
"Hanafi was fighting against the TTP and anyone who will fight with us will face the same fate," Shahid told AFP from an undisclosed location.
Mullah Nabi Hanfi was a commander of the Hangu chapter of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) before switching sides and joining the government’s counter-insurgency efforts.
Nabi had said earlier that his group was on TTP’s hit list since the latter wanted to seize control of Hangu, Kohat, Orakzai and parts of the Kurram Agency.
A suicide bomber ran a vehicle full of explosives into the headquarters of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Mullah Nabi Hanafi group in the Spin Tall region of Hangu, Express News reported on Thursday.
The blast killed 15 of the group's members and injured several others.
The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for medical assistance.
The headquarters building collapsed due to the explosion and the compound was badly destroyed.
A senior government official told AFP that clashes erupted when fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked militant commander Hanafi's house.
"Militants from the Hanafi group, two attackers and a suicide bomber were killed. About 20 others along with two women have been injured," the official in Orakzai told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The attack began with a suicide bomber detonating a car bomb outside the compound, followed by militants launching an assault with guns.
TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed the attack.
"Hanafi was fighting against the TTP and anyone who will fight with us will face the same fate," Shahid told AFP from an undisclosed location.
Mullah Nabi Hanfi was a commander of the Hangu chapter of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) before switching sides and joining the government’s counter-insurgency efforts.
Nabi had said earlier that his group was on TTP’s hit list since the latter wanted to seize control of Hangu, Kohat, Orakzai and parts of the Kurram Agency.