BANNU, PAKISTAN — A coordinated double bombing has left seven people dead and three others injured in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The back-to-back improvised explosive device (IED) attacks took place in the Bannu district, a volatile region bordering Afghanistan.

According to senior district police chief Yasir Afridi, both devices were planted alongside the road and detonated remotely in a calculated strike.

The first explosion occurred when an IED tore through a passenger van traveling from Hathi Khel village toward Bannu city. The blast instantly killed five passengers and wounded three others inside the vehicle.

Tragedy struck a second time just moments later. As local residents and emergency responders rushed to the scene to pull victims from the wreckage and load them into vehicles, a second remote-controlled bomb was detonated.

The secondary explosion killed two people who were actively assisting with the rescue efforts, bringing the total death toll to seven.

A massive security search operation is currently underway across the district to track down those responsible for orchestrating the dual strikes. While no militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities state that suspicion heavily points toward the Pakistani Taliban—known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—who frequently utilize roadside IEDs against both civilians and security forces in the area.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the twin bombings, offering his deep condolences to the grieving families and praying for the recovery of the wounded.

In an official statement, President Zardari issued a stern warning to the "internal and external handlers of terrorism" who facilitate logistics, financing, and safe havens for militant networks operating across the country's porous border regions.