Pakistani forces killed all five militants, including a suicide bomber, after an attack on a cadet college in Wana, northwestern Pakistan, a security official said on Wednesday.
The security operation has concluded, and authorities are now clearing the college building to eliminate any potential threat from planted improvised explosive devices, the official told Anadolu on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
On Monday, the Cadet College in Wana in South Waziristan district near the Afghan border came under attack when militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the main gate of the college.
Two militants, including a suicide bomber, were killed at the main gate while three others entered the educational facility.
Security forces rescued more than 600 individuals, including students, teachers, and civilian staff, who were inside the facility and later carried out an operation against the militants who were cornered in the college’s administrative block, the official said.
The security official said militants attempted a repeat of the 2014 Peshawar school attack, but security forces prevented the tragedy.
On Dec. 16, 2014, six Taliban terrorists stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar, capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and killed nearly 150 people, including more than 130 schoolchildren.
Short clip from the terrorists who are live-streaming from inside a building of the Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the attack goes on even after 18 hours now. The school itself has been evacuated and the military is preparing to raid the building. pic.twitter.com/4unfu9CvmY
— The STRATCOM Bureau (@OSPSF) November 11, 2025
According to some reports, terrorists even live-streamed the attack from inside the building.
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Khalifa Mansoor group had claimed responsibility for the attack. Mansoor was later killed in a US drone attack in eastern Afghanistan in October 2017.
The attack on the Cadet College in Wana comes a day before a suicide blast rocked the local court in the capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday. Pakistan has reacted strongly to the back-to-back incidents of terrorism hitting the capital, Islamabad, and the Frontier Province.
Speaking to local television, Information Minister Atta Tarar termed the Pakistan Army’s clearance operation at the Wana Cadet College a huge achievement. He added that 550 students were safely evacuated without being hurt.
He expressed his apprehensions that the attack on the Cadet College could have been a much graver incident than the dreadful attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014. The Minister added that Pakistan has proven its worth in conventional warfare as well as in dealing with the proxy war.
“This was a difficult task and a sensitive operation. And our army has proven once again that it is included among the world’s best,” he said.
He, however, again demanded that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for carrying out terrorist attacks in Pakistan. “Concrete evidence of the attacks will be shared with friendly countries and international forums,” he said.
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Cadet college Wana staff evacuating from the building under attack in the cover of a military vehicle. pic.twitter.com/JwcvvvrwwY
— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) November 11, 2025
He assured that a thorough investigation would be carried out into the attacks in Wana as well as the suicide attack in Islamabad on Tuesday. Tarar added that Pakistani security forces are on alert and ready to deal with any circumstances. A report from the DHQ hospital in Wana confirmed nine civilians, including men, women, and children, suffered injuries following the explosion that damaged the nearby structures.
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari discussed the country’s security situation in the wake of attacks in Wana and Islamabad. Condemning the incidents, the Premier and the President exchanged views on the country’s overall political and security situation.
Footage of the suicide bombing attack at the gate of the Wana Cadet College in South Waziristan yesterday: https://t.co/Zvi5gVBTGx pic.twitter.com/yZchUaM3Na
— The STRATCOM Bureau (@OSPSF) November 11, 2025
Meanwhile, the Interior Minister of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi, has said that it is clear that Afghanistan is directly involved in the attack on both Islamabad and Wana. He added that the terrorists have been identified as Afghan.
“The foreign minister, deputy prime minister, defence minister — we all have gone numerous times and presented them with evidence and details on how they (terrorists) are being trained in Afghanistan, how they plan and then come here to carry out attacks.”
#Afghan govt has condemned attack in #Islamabad and #Wana , SW, on cadet college. pic.twitter.com/GSd8BplKPP
— Tahir Khan (@taahir_khan) November 11, 2025
“We are very clear in this that Afghanistan must stop them under all circumstances. In case of not stopping them, we will have no other option but to deal with the terrorists who are attacking our country,“ he said.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also alerted that Pakistan is in a state of war and that attacks on terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan could not be ruled out after the incidents in Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
With Additional Inputs from GVS South Asia Desk