At least four soldiers are dead and 50 more were injured after an explosion and gunfire at a military barracks in Bannu city in northwestern Pakistan on July 15, security officials told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal.
The incident began when a suicide bomber detonated explosives-laden vehicles and insurgents opened fire near the outer wall of the barricaded garrison.
Security officials who described the incident to Radio Mashaal asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
A previously unknown group called Jaish-e Fursan-e Muhammad claimed responsibility for the attack in a WhatsApp message to media outlets.
Radio Mashaal could not independently confirm the existence of any such armed group.
Local security officials quoted by the Associated Press said all five attackers had been killed. Police official Tahir Khan told the AP that security forces responded to a “coordinated attack” by the insurgents to enter the military facility, which mainly houses offices of the military and the homes of security forces.
Local residents told a Radio Mashaal correspondent that homes far from the blast were shaken and windows shattered.
Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province have recently protested the lack of security provided by Islamabad against the actions of extremists.
Pakistani security forces have reported conducting targeted operations against militants in several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a longtime ally in Pakistan of the Afghan Taliban, has been blamed for a surge in violence in the region over the past year.