Seven killed, three injured in twin blasts in Bannu’s Marka Bera area

BANNU: At least seven people were killed and three others injured in two explosions in Marka Bera, a semi-tribal mountainous area of Bannu’s Wazir subdivision, police said on Saturday.

Bannu District Police Officer Yasir Afridi confirmed the casualty toll, saying seven people were martyred and three others were wounded in the back-to-back blasts. He said security forces and law enforcement agencies reached the area soon after the incidents, collected evidence and started an investigation.

Police and local sources said the first explosion struck a passenger vehicle travelling towards Domel. The blast destroyed the vehicle and killed five people at the scene. The vehicle was a passenger van travelling from Hathi Khel village to Bannu and explosives planted along a roadside detonated as it passed.

Residents rushed to the site after the first explosion and began rescue efforts, including recovering bodies and moving the injured to hospital. Eyewitnesses said the second blast took place when the wounded were being shifted in a car nearly a kilometre from the site of the first explosion. The second blast occurred shortly afterwards at the same location and killed two people involved in rescue efforts. Both said a vehicle was destroyed or damaged in the second explosion.

Rescue 1122 teams shifted the dead and injured to Domel Rural Health Centre and Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital. The bodies and injured were taken to Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital for treatment and legal formalities.

After the explosions, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. Authorities were also carrying out a detailed sweep amid fears that more explosive devices could still be present.

Recent violence in Bannu

The latest attack comes amid continuing security concerns in Bannu and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The district has seen repeated security incidents in recent months, affecting both civilians and local security personnel.

A week earlier, militants tried to blow up the Teri Ram Bridge on Miryan Road in Bannu, causing partial damage to the structure. On June 12, two police constables were martyred in separate targeted attacks in the district. Last month, at least two police personnel and two civilians were martyred, while 25 terrorists were killed in a clash involving law enforcers, a peace committee and militants.

The attack also came months after a suicide bombing in Bannu in April in which at least five people, including three women and a child, were martyred and four others injured. A suicide bomber on April 3 had attempted to target civilians gathered outside a police station in the district.

Amid the surge in terrorism, a jirga held on Thursday called on the government to take immediate steps to eliminate militancy from the region.