Twin suicide bombings have killed 21 people, including the attacker, at a cantonment in Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The dead included six attackers, while the rest were civilians and victims. Four children and two women were among the civilians. The six attackers who were killed have also been identified. The six were members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Pakistani political party.

An army officer who witnessed the incident told Reuters that two explosive-laden vehicles drove into the area of ​​the army barracks on Tuesday evening as people were breaking their fast. The explosions followed shortly after. He also said the roofs of a nearby mosque and a house collapsed in the blast.

The victims of the attack were taken to the nearby District Headquarters Hospital. A hospital spokesperson told Pakistani media outlet Geo News that 15 of the dead were civilians. In addition, 25 others were injured in the incident.

The previous day, Monday, a suicide bombing at a madrassa in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killed six people, including a top local Taliban leader.

The Taliban group returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the US withdrew its troops. Since then, terrorist attacks have surged in Pakistan. Last year, i.e. 2024, was the worst. According to official data, more than 1,600 people were killed in various attacks from January to December last year. Of these, 685 were police and army personnel.

The attacks have mostly occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The TTP, a pro-Taliban Pakistan group and its affiliates, are responsible for these attacks. The TTP is supported by the Afghan Taliban.

In July last year, Hafiz Gul Bahadur's group, one of the TTP's affiliates, carried out a suicide car bomb attack on an army camp in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, killing eight soldiers and 10 terrorists.