At least 24 killed in blast at TTP compound in northwest Pak

Locals say ‘air strikes’ destroyed complex

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At least 24 people, including women and children, were killed and several others injured on Monday when explosive materials stored at a compound owned by the Pakistani Taliban exploded in northwest Pakistan, police said.

The residents, however, claimed that air strikes hit the compound in Tirah Valley’s Matur Dara area in Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan.

No official statement has been issued by the government regarding the tragedy.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party's provincial branch claimed that the "jet bombing" in the Tirah Valley destroyed five houses. It said that 20 bodies have been recovered from the rubble.

The local administration denied the claims about aerial strikes by the Pakistani fighter jets on the compound, saying the explosives used in bomb making exploded, causing the death of 24 people, including 14 militants.