Peshawar: Pakistan lost over 60 soldiers while more than 100 have been left wounded after its two major installations, including a Cantonment, were attacked by gunmen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since yesterday.
More than 50 soldiers are believed to have been killed and over 80 injured in the attack on the Army Cantonment in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to reports from local sources.
The Pakistan Army, however, said only 8 soldiers were killed in the attack that lasted over 24 hours.
The attack by 10 members of an outfit led by Mujahideen Hafiz Gul Bahadur, which is affiliated to Pakistani Taliban, began around 04:50 am (Pakistan Time) yesterday.
The attackers first detonated explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of Cantonment, killing and injuring several soldiers.
Most of the deaths occurred as a building collapsed due to the impact of the blast carried out by a suicide bomber, the sources said.
The other attackers then entered the premises, firing indiscriminately.
They made their way to the residential rooms within the complex.
Pakistani soldiers tried to contain the damage and a fierce gunfight ensued.
However, the attackers remained entrenched within the complex and kept firing till this morning, before all of them were killed.
While the gun battle in Bannu Cantt was continuing, another group of 3 armed men attacked an installation of paramilitary Frontier Corps in Kirri Shamozai area of Dera Ismail Khan district this morning.
More than 10 Pakistani soldiers are believed to have been killed and over 20 injured in this attack.
The Pakistan Army admitted to the killing of only two soldiers.
It has been the usual practice of the Pakistani military to underplay the losses and casualties it suffers in conflicts.
