Six security officials killed in Hangu bomb attack

The outlawed group, Ansarul Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

HANGU: Six soldiers were killed and eight were wounded when a remote-controlled roadside bomb targeted a Frontier Corps convoy which was moving from Hangu to Kurram on Wednesday, officials said.

The Ansar-ul-Mujahideen militant group, which has been active in the tribal areas for around three years, later claimed responsibility.

The group's spokesperson Abu Baseer told AFP: "We have carried out this attack to avenge drone victims. We are not part of the Pakistani Taliban so we aren't bound by their ceasefire."

The injured have been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital and the area has been cordoned off for further investigations.

Previous attacks

The same outlawed group had also claimed responsibility for an attack in North Waziristan that killed four security officials and injured 10 others on December 13 last year.

Talking to the media from an undisclosed location, the group’s spokesperson, Abu Baseer, had said the attack was carried out to avenge the death of those killed in the US drone strike on a seminary in Hangu.

Ansarul Mujahideen group had also said they were responsible for the suicide attack on a convoy in Wana that killed two security officials on October 11, 2013.

The group’s spokesperson had said this attack was carried out to avenge the death of Haqqani network commander Sangin Zadran, who was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan.