At Least 11 Killed In Militant Attack In Pakistan

The aftermath of a suicide attack in Bannu in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (file photo).

At least 11 members of Pakistan's security forces were killed and at least four others were wounded in a car-bombing and shooting attack, the country's military said in a statement. The attack occurred late on November 19 in Bannu, a district in the restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the statement said. Residents told RFE/RL that the sound of gunfire could be heard until late at night. A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying that 23 members of the Pakistani security forces had been killed, a toll that could not be independently verified. The attack occurred as Pakistan's political and military leadership was meeting in Islamabad to discuss ways to tackle the current surge in militant violence. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here.