Explosion Rocks Pakistani Military Compound, Army says 28 dead after suspected miltants target vehicle carrying paramilitary troops in Bannu region

A bomb blast has ripped through a vehicle carrying security forces inside a Pakistani army compound in the country's volatile north-western region, killing 20 people, most of them paramilitary troops, and wounding 30 more, a security official said..

The Frontier Corps unit was moving from the compound in Bannu to Razmak in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region when a bomb planted inside the vehicle exploded, the official said, requesting that he not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. The official said a road curfew was in place on Sunday to secure the transportation of troops to and from the tribal region, where military convoys have been hit by roadside bombings and ambushes.

The troops, the official said, were to be ferried in an unmarked vehicle. “The vehicle was rented from a local bazaar. We have a shortage of vehicles,” the official said. “Most probably, the bomb was already planted inside the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle has also been killed.”

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organization representing Pakistani militant groups, has taken responsibility for the bombing.

A government official who also asked not to be identified said that paramilitary and other security forces routinely rented unmarked vehicles as a cover to hide the identity of the passengers.

There has been a spike in terrorist attacks after a brief lull following the death in a drone strike of a militant commander, Hakimullah Mehsud, in November. A security official said there had been 42 attacks this month in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including the Sunday bombing.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government is seeking a peace dialogue with militant groups in the tribal region, but the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has resisted, saying it will not talk to a government subservient to the United States.

The militant group ruled out peace talks with the government after an American drone killed the leader of the organisation, Hakimullah Mehsud, on 1 November although even before that many analysts had little faith the negotiations would be successful. 

Previous peace talks have quickly fallen apart, and many analysts say such negotiations are generally used by the militants to regroup for future fighting.

The militants accused Pakistan of helping the US target Mehsud. Islamabad vehemently denied the allegation and accused Washington of sabotaging its attempt to strike a deal with the Taliban to end years of violence.

The militant group vowed to step up its attacks against the government and the military, and Mehsud's replacement, Mullah Fazlullah, is not seen as a supporter of peace.

Fazlullah was the leader of the Pakistani Taliban in the north-west Swat valley and fled to Afghanistan after the army launched an offensive there in 2009. He is known as a particularly ruthless militant who planned the attempted assassination of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012.