Peshawar, Quetta bomb attacks kill 21
Eleven persons were killed and around 50 others injured when a suicide bomber targeted an armoured personnel carrier (APC) of the police in the Batathal Bazaar near the boundary with Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency on Friday.
“A suicide bomber attacked a police APC when it was patrolling the area,” Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Najibur Rahman told The News.The APC of the Sarband Police Station was damaged in the attack and the cops inside the vehicle sustained only slight injuries. They were taken to hospital for treatment.
Najibur Rahman said the cops were the target of the bomber as the militants wanted to weaken the police force in the area.“The force has a huge presence in the area to stop the attacks on the city from the tribal areas,” he said, adding that a few policemen were wounded in the blast.
According to Rescue 1122 officials, 11 persons were killed in the attack and 50 sustained injuries. “Eight bodies and 24 wounded persons were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital. Three bodies and 27 injured people were taken to the Hayatabad Medical Complex,” Bilal Ahmad Faizi, the spokesman for the Rescue 1122, told The News.
Some of the dead were identified as Farman, Jamil, Naseem, Abdur Raheem, Habibullah, Mehnat Bibi, Asad, Gulnara, Waheedullah and an unidentified person.Officials said Sub-Inspector Bukhari Shah, who has been leading the operations against the militants in the area for the last several years, was the target of the bomber. He had sustained injuries in a previous attack on him. At least two attempts on his life were made in the past. He remained unharmed in the Friday’s attack.
Emergency was declared at the city hospitals after the explosion. Many women and children were among those injured in the explosion that ripped through the crowded bazaar. More than 10 vehicles and almost a dozen shops and cabins, a nearby gas station and several pushcarts were also damaged in the explosion.
The injured included Kamran, Fazal Rehman, Haji Muhammad Ashraf, Shafiullah, Naseeb Gul, Habibur Rehman, Shafiq, Rizwan, Muzammil, Hazrat Ali, Mehrunnisa, Darwaish, Sadiqullah, Momin, Atif, Gulzar, Fatima, Mira Jana, Salman, Seema, Naseeb, Arshad, Shan Zeb, Asmatullah and Abdul Amin.
Police, along with the Frontier Constabulary, have established a number of checkposts on the boundary with the Khyber Agency to stop the militant attacks on the provincial capital. Most of the routes connecting the tribal area with Peshawar are properly patrolled.
However, attackers still manage to find their way to carry out attacks in the areas close to the boundary between the tribal and settled areas as well as other parts of the provincial metropolis. Thousands of people have already left the area following the frequent bombings and other attacks during the last many years.
Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak announced compensation for all the victims of the suicide explosion. Under the package, heirs of the dead will be paid Rs0.5 million each while the injured will be given Rs0.2 million. Similarly, the injured police Jawans will also be paid compensation under the police package.
The chief minister ordered immediate release of the compensation to all victims and also asked the district administration and police to conduct separate inquiries for bringing to justice the terrorists involved in the incident as soon as possible.
Condemning the incident, the chief minister said the purpose of this terrorist attack was to create a sense of insecurity among the citizens and demoralise the security forces. He said that after the beginning of peace negotiations and announcement of ceasefire by the Taliban, the real faces of anti-state elements was clearly revealed in such cruel acts of terrorism, which would be dealt with sternly.
In Quetta, a powerful bomb blast killed 10 people, including two children, and injured 40 others on the Jinnah Road.The bomb exploded near the Government Science College when people were busy in routine activities.
The bomb was fixed to a bicycle which had been parked on the main road. As soon as a patrolling team of the Frontier Corps (FC) crossed the site at around 3:00pm, the explosion took place. At that time a passenger bus was also passing through the area which came under attack. Over 40 people were travelling in the bus when the explosion took place, eyewitnesses said.
“It was a time device which was tied to a bicycle,” said officials of the bomb disposal squad. Human body parts were scattered all over the place while the injured were crying with pain.Official and Edhi Foundation’s ambulances rushed to the spot and started shifting the victims of the explosion to the Civil Hospital for treatment. Emergency was declared in all the hospitals of Quetta. The condition of some of the injured was stated to be critical.
Police and FC personnel reached the spot and cordoned off the area as officials of the bomb disposal squad (BDS) examined the type of explosive material used. The BDS officials said four to five kilogrammes of explosives were used in the blast.
One passenger bus, three auto rickshaws and one motorcycle were damaged badly in the explosion, while windowpanes of nearby buildings were also smashed.SSP Quetta Muhammad Jaffar said police and law enforcement agencies were investigating the incident.
“The attack was an attempt to target the FC patrolling team,” officials said. Balochistan Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai and Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch expressed deep grief over the Jinnah Road blast. They strongly condemned the explosion and directed to apprehend those involved in the blast.
Our Kohat correspondent adds: A militant group Ahrarul Hind claimed responsibility for the blasts in Peshawar and Quetta.
Talking to The News from an undisclosed location by phone, Umar Qasim, declaring himself as the leader of Ahrarul Hind, said that they had carried out the attacks on the police in Peshawar and Quetta.
Agencies add: President Mamnoon Hussain condemned the terrorist attacks in Peshawar and Quetta which killed innocent people.
The president prayed early recovery of the injured. He also prayed for courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.The Quaid-e-Millat Jafariya, Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi, also condemned the attacks and demanded strict action against the terrorists.