The fatalities were caused on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar on Friday in an exchange of fire triggered by the gunmen attack, which marked the first major one in several weeks.
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Bajwa said security forces reached the area shortly after and sealed it off but a gun battle is still under way. It’s unclear if any other attackers got away. Ambulances had taken around 20 wounded military personnel to hospital, Bilal Ahmed, a rescue official, told Reuters.
13 militants were said to have been killed by security forces, although the Taliban said just one of their fighters died.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and is monitoring the situation. According to Muslim tradition, the deceased are buried as soon as possible.
Chief of Pakistan Army Gen. Raheel Sharif reached Peshawar to meet injured soldiers and he was also briefed at Corps Headquarters Peshawar about the attack.
The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said so far there are no reports of women or children among the wounded.
TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement emailed to journalists.
The Tehreek-i-Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban) says it carried out the attack. “They (Taliban) are simply trying to seek revenge”, said Ikram Sehgal, a respected Pakistani commentator on defence and security affairs.
Nearby residents said gunfire and blasts could be heard more than three hours subsequent to the assault occurred.
Bajwa tweeted that 13 terrorists were killed.
He said the firing had stopped and a search operation for militants who might be hiding was under way.
The last major attack in the city came in February when three heavily armed Taliban militants stormed a Shi’ite mosque, killing 21 people. The militant was identified as Umar Hayat and investigators were reportedly interrogating him.
The Pakistani military, including the air force, is reportedly conducting the last phase of a “clearance operation” in Shawal, a mountainous area near the border with Afghanistan in the North Waziristan tribal region.
“Police were present outside the base in an outer cordon”, he added.
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Located at Badaber, about 5 miles from Peshawar, the camp came under attack by Taliban militants dressed in paramilitary uniforms who drove straight through police checkpoints and got into the compound.
