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Death toll from Hangu suicide attack rises to 35
28 dead as explosives-laden vehicle detonated close to administration offices.
Security personnel and local residents search for blast victims through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a suicide car bomb attack in Hangu on Thursday. PHOTO: AFP
HANGU:
The death toll from the Thursday blast in Hangu has risen to 33 people, according to District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Rasheed.
Express 24/7 correspondent Iftikhar Firdous reported that more than 50 people had been injured in the blast but most had been discharged from the Tehsil Headquarters hospital (THQ).
Updated from print edition (below)
Hangu suicide attack: Answering govt resolve, terror strikes again
In what was the second attack of the day, at least 28 people, including three policemen, were killed and 52 others were injured when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car close to administration offices in the southern Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, officials said.
The attack comes amid a rising spiral of violence that has gripped the country following the killing of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on May 2 by US Navy SEALs in Abbottabad.
Earlier in the day, the Taliban fired a mortar bomb at a military checkpoint in North Waziristan but there were no casualties, intelligence officials said.
Commissioner Kohat division Sahibzada Anees told The Express Tribune that at least 26 persons were killed and 36 others were injured in the Hangu blast.
Anees said that three policemen were also among the dead, while six of the injured were in a critical condition. He added that rescue work was in progress and efforts were on to retrieve those trapped beneath the rubble. However, Deputy Inspector General Masood Khan Afridi told AFP that the death toll had risen to 32. According to the news agency District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Rashid Khan also confirmed the toll and said 56 people were wounded in the attack.
Regional police spokesman Fazal Naeem feared most of those killed were policemen and predicted that the toll would rise, because there are offices and residences of senior police and administration officials near the attack site.
A spokesperson for the Kohat police told The Express Tribune that the attack took place at a police barrier set up close to the residence of the DCO and Hangu City Police Station. He said that the area was very sensitive as the residence of the DCO, District Police Officer (DPO) office, Special Branch office and district courts were all located in the same vicinity.
The official said that all the buildings were badly damaged in the assault, adding the site of the blast, situated on the main Kohat-Hangu Road, is a very congested area.
“A double-cabin pickup was used in this attack and at least 450 kilogramme of explosives were packed inside this vehicle,” another police official told The Express Tribune.
He added that at the moment it was not clear how many buildings were damaged in the blast, which left a four-foot deep and eight-foot wide crater on the ground.
“People were crying and shouting for help. I saw pools of blood and human limbs, including arms and hands,” Haji Abdul Rehman, a witness, told AFP.
“People pulled out bodies of a woman and a man from rubble of a nearby hotel. There are several cars destroyed,” he added.
“We accept responsibility for this attack,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for the Tehreek-i-Taliban, told AFP by telephone. “Soon you will see bigger attacks. Revenge for Osama can’t be satisfied just with small attacks,” he said.
Also on Thursday, the Taliban fired a mortar bomb at a military check post in Miramshah, North Waziristan but there were no casualties, intelligence officials said.
“It missed the post and we have no reports of any casualties,” an intelligence official in the region said.
The main market in the town closed down and security forces fired shots in the air after the attack, residents said.
Earlier on Wednesday, a suicide attack on the CID police station in Peshawar killed at least eight security personnel and injured 46 others, while American consulate personnel were also targeted in a car bomb attack a few days ago.
ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AGENCIES
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2011.
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A blast a day, keep development away.Recommend
May God bless our country with peace….its sad and tragic….the lives of security forces ppl are at constant stake and May God keep us united in these times…..Recommend
Pakistan should be focused on kicking all CIA contractors and agents out of the country…the so called TTP will be vanished. at every attack they call it as osama revenge… funny isn’t it… and looks like someone else speaking in their mouth.Recommend
Feel very sad for so many loss of lives!
About time to realise there is no “Good” Taliban! There can not be anything “Good” about such mass murderers and they can’t be anyone’s “asset”!Recommend
Taliban are scorpion, they cannot act as human being
They are just barbarian and dangerous animals, madRecommend
I would like to know the reaction of those Pakistanis who have utmost respect for Osama and they wished him Zanat after his martyrdom.Recommend
A LONG TIME AGO IN A COUNTRY FAR FAR AWAY……..
India/USA/Israel/Britian/Denmark/Netherlands (insert rest of the world)….etc sponsored
“STAR WARS”Recommend
Pakistan has become such a failed state. They should cut down the Budget of their ARMY and spend money on people instead !Recommend
Vengeance has come home to roost. Things will steadily get worse as Pakistan lives in denial. Blame everyone else apart from ourselves. We are guilty of murdering martyrs like Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, and not even having the courage to protest. Lost as a people, we will be damned to rot in hell.Recommend
How many Muslims must die before revenge is satisfied? What kind of humans are we???Recommend
I dont get this..The Americans kill a known terrorist and as a revenge you kill yourselves ??? How does killing your own people justify anything ? Why are the people of Pakistan silent and do not fight back against the government like they did in Egypt, Iran etc. Does this mean that the people of Pakistan agree with the ideologies of these killers ? I dont think so. I hope not…
God (no matter what religion you are) bless us all against these scum of the earth.Recommend
“spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location” … Are you kidding me ? which part of world are we living ? can’t we just track the phone and catch them….Recommend
The following are lyrics from the movie; Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.
“gajab kaa hain din socho jaraa, ye diwaanaapan dekho jaraa …
dekh lo hum ko kareeb se, aaj hum mile hain naseeb se …
kyaa kahoo meraa jo haal hai, raat din tumhaaraa khayaal hai …
fir bhee jaan-ye-jaan, main kahaan aaur tum kahaan”
======================================
We Pakistani people must hold their government accountable.
This is going to cost us more than P3-C Orions and a couple of police chowkis.
I sincerely hope, the army realises the importance of reversing the
stupid folly of ‘strategic assets’ once and for all, and keep our national polity intact.Recommend
Pakistan is becoming Iraq at it’s worst. In Iraq the people finally figured out that the terrorist were the problem and once they turned on Al Qaeda things became manageable. Perhaps it’s time for the Pakistani people to drop by conspiracy theory nonsense and focus on the terrorist.Recommend
And yet people want to blame the US? So sad. Turning blind eyes at the true enemies of humanity while blaming others for Pakistan’s problems.Recommend
@Sunny Deol Pakistani:
Why you are worried for others – think about you and your family as you will have to be accounted for and answered before Allah after the death for deeds and acts.Recommend
@mahmood:
Not comparable: Iraq is in a civil war thanks to the Americans, whereas Pakistan is suffering from a terrorist group. Pakistan situation is more similar to Algeria than Iraq, even if in Algeria in went out of proportion (they lost 1% of their today’s population, no more cultural life as singers, writers, … exiled, etc)Recommend
“Bomb squad personnel had reached the area and confirmed that at least 450 kilogram of explosives were used in the blast.”
If the explosion was not caused by a concoction of fertilizer type of chemicals, Pakistan has a MAJOR problem on its hands. Half a tonne of regular explosives just CAN NOT be bought in the open market, implying, TTP has sympathizers in the Pakistani Armed Forces, and these sympathizers have access to some very nasty ordnance.Recommend
This is a clear barbarism .I request pak. army to take an urgent & strict actions against these beasts as well as their political supporters &media personnel.Curse on talibanRecommend
This Govt. got to go, goodness me, where the hell are they. People are dying like insects, what a pathetic people. They don’t know how to run a country, its very very weak, they must give up so some else can do the job.Recommend
We saw so much death for the past 3 decades and it is sad to see the deathly dance across the border now. Lets pray for the departed innocent lives and for the courage of their families. Grieve with you in these testing times. Hope you come out stronger. With Love IndianRecommend
This is a clear barbarism .I request pak. army to take an urgent & strict action against these beasts as well as their political supporters & media personnel.Curse on talibanRecommend
Instead of blaming the US or India we need to ask them for help in fighting the militants. God have mercy on us please.Recommend
Taliban is blindly obeying whats written in Quran. Now what is the point blaming Taliban.
Sad to see so many innocent people die. May their soul rest in peace.Recommend
Its time we end cooperation with Azab-e-Elahi Amrika. But because of our TROIKA’s ayashi it will never happen.Recommend
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes BackRecommend
Pakistan should now decide that it has to follow turkey model!!
0.Take all powers from armed forces and delegate all to democratic set ups
1.Separate religion from state
2.Disarm every person in every territory of country including Frontier province
3.Sign treaty of Friendship with all neighboring countries !
4.Put all those in jail who violate these laws!!
If pakistan cant do it,it can ask indian help !!We dont want to see instability in our region!
It is hampering our progress!!Recommend
Pakistan should follow INDIA model.Recommend
Our Property Dealer Marshalls played havoc with country when they were not promoted or removed from job. For their personal gains they have suspended constitutions and given worst possible punishment to those who raised voices. Now whole nation is under seige, the end of everything is fast approaching, thousands of innocent people are dying but our saviours are playing golf, grabbing lands and spending time with Begums Sahibs. Perhaps they will move their … when terrorists send them job termination letters.Recommend
First Pakistan has to Identify who is real enemy America, India, westerner or Taliban and they are living within you and killing your father, son , daughter and your future…….
If you are not able to identify your enemy than you will not able to win this war and definitely,
Pakistan will be doomed and your enemy will be rule on you.
As per opinion on this newspaper 50 to 60 % Pakistani support Taliban and for this they are
ready to kill their own people. 10 to 20 support America . 20 % is confuse what to do ?
so first pls clear your path…support Taliban or america , right now you people are suffering due to unclear policy of you and your government about war on terror…..Recommend
When osama is not safe in pakistan, you know you, the normal citizen is not safe. Thanks you strategic depth. So many women & children died in the name of foreign policy! Thank you Army & ISI.Recommend
@mahmood:
You say: “Pakistan is becoming Iraq at it’s worst. In Iraq the people finally figured out that the terrorist were the problem and once they turned on Al Qaeda things became manageable. Perhaps it’s time for the Pakistani people to drop by conspiracy theory nonsense and focus on the terrorist.”
While you are partly correct, you are missing some very important points. The Iraqi military-political establishment and the government never supported terrorists. In contrast, the Pakistani establishment has been funding, training and nurturing terrorists for its geopolitical goals. Moreover, unlike Pakistan, the Iraqi military and intelligence services do not run the country. You can’t deny that the Pakistani establishment has been systematically brainwashing three generations teaching them intolerance, bigotry and distorted history. This has, in effect, resulted in creation of a radical and bigoted (80%) population that supports radical Islamist world-view and pan-Islamism.
Sad to say this, but the old adage “one reaps what one sows” has come true in Pakistan.Recommend
I dont understand how the bloody lawyers aren’t condemning the talibans??why arent these people being arrested???? why arent all the politicians calling TTP a terrorist organization???Recommend
It is very sad state of affairs. Common sense says it’s past due time for Arm forces to take over with strict security measures until the next election.
The civilian government, enjoying the so called democracy is way too weak to protect it’s citizens and the daily blood shed has gone far too long. This needs to be taken very seriously. Unbelievable!Recommend
When atrocities goes beyond human control; Nature intervene. The time has arrived inshallah when these so called Jihadist dig their own grave.Recommend
Please show us their backs which was broken by words and not physically. Heart really goes for those innocent citizens, family members and friends who do not know when heavens will fall on them. May the souls of the departed rest in peace, Amen.Recommend
New Statement by Gen. Kayani:-
“We have broken the backs of the terrorists, but they have multiple backs”. Really sad that the blood of Pakistani`s is flowing on the street but the Army and ISI does nothing, except empty words.
Our blood is nothing in front of pursuing the strategic depth policy.Recommend
TTP, Aal Qaeda combine is hellbent on taking over Pakistan. They are being supported in this venture by the alphabet soup of LeT, JeM, LeJ, SSP and what not.
The choice therefore is very clear. Abandon pursuit of strategic depth through these assets or embrace strategic death at their hands.
May Pakistan be wise in its choice.Recommend
is ISI and army sleeping?Recommend
We request Indian govt and indian people to forgive us for the 64 year mistake!!
we are inefficient and unable to run our country!!WE should request India to come and run our country !!We are not a pariah state of islam where noone talks about extremism but everyone talks about those drone attacks which kill extremists (not denying that innocents are killed too)!!
Since my govt and army is incompetent ,we should delegate this to tolerant peaceful hindus govt of india!!
My relatives in india who chose to leave there are in better conditions;safer and at peace!!Recommend
@Proud_karachiite
We all know that you’re an Indian masquerading as a Pakistani.
One correction in your comments. India does not have a Hindu government. Or maybe you already know this, being an Indian.Recommend
The only solution for this problem is full power to people of pakistan and establish democracy to maximum possible limit… Remember never to give up the power to armies… They know nothing but shooting at people… They dont care whether they are shooting their own or a foreigner…. These lessons were learnt by UK and USA long before we did.. One reason why their countries are so stable and we are still fighting…Recommend
@narayana murthy: Funny man, isn’t it? You know under the circumstances he could be real__ what he portray.Recommend
@narayana murthy:
Yes, Mr. Murthy. He is not an Indian.
Because he calls Indian govt an Hindu govt. Our Prime Minister is a Sikh. Head of the Ruling party is a Christian.Recommend