2 explosive-laden cars ram into Pak military compound

Two suicide bombers belonging to a militant group drove two explosive-laden cars into an army compound in northwestern Pakistan yesterday evening, triggering massive explosions, police told AFP.

"Suicide bombers rammed two explosives-laden vehicles into the entrance gate of Bannu Cantonment, triggering massive explosions... after which multiple militants attempted to storm the compound," a senior district police official said on condition of anonymity.

"Security forces present at the scene engaged them in a gunfight. Initial reports confirm that four militants have been killed," he said, adding that six civilians were killed.

Bannu, a district in Pakistan's turbulent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, lies adjacent to the country's formerly self-governed tribal areas and close to Afghanistan.

The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, which actively supported the Afghan Taliban in its war against the US-led Nato coalition since 2001.

"Our fighters got access to an important target and took control," the group said in a statement, without providing further details.