Terrorist strike: Suicide bomber kills 20 in Bannu

Police personnel offering prayers come under attack after suicide attack on police station.

BANNU:

At least 20 people, among them six policemen, were killed and 20 more wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a mosque next to a police station in Bannu.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack – the first major strike since the beginning of this year.

The attack took place about 15 kilometres from Bannu city in the limits of Meeryan police station. The area is close to the Frontier Region Janikhel and a road to North Waziristan Agency also passes through it.

Top police official in Bannu Sajjad Khan told reporters that it was a suicide attack. And the attacker was in a blue double-cabin vehicle which was packed with about 1,000 kilograms of explosives.

Muhammad Rahim, a doctor in Bannu’s main hospital said: “We have received 18 dead bodies and 15 injured.”

A police official told The Express Tribune that the attack took place when evening prayers were in progress in the mosque. He said the roof of the mosque caved in after the blast, trapping a number of worshippers beneath the rubble.

The official said that the mosque was frequented by police and paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) troops. He said five of the dead policemen were from the Elite Force, while others were from the Anti-Terrorist Squad. “There were some civilian casualties too but most of the victims were security personnel,” another police official added. The mosque was razed to the ground and the adjacent police station and a nearby primary school were also damaged.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain confirmed 17 fatalities. However, sources put  the death toll at 20.

Bannu district shares borders with North and South Waziristan tribal agencies and has seen similar attacks in the past.

Last year, District Police Officer Bannu Iqbal Khan was also killed in a suicide attack.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Paki-stan claimed that one of their fighters carried out the attack in retaliation for US drone strikes in the tribal belt.

“We will continue such attacks unless the drone attacks are stopped,” said Azam Tariq, a purported spokesperson for the TTP.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2011.