N Waziristan bombing: Death toll among soldiers rises to 17

Life comes to a halt as fear grips residents.

MIRAMSHAH: As rescue workers and security personnel cleared the rubble in the deadly Esha check post bombing in North Waziristan, the fatalities among the soldiers rose to 17, with another 40 injured.

A security official reported that as a result of the attack, the residential quarters of security personnel and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) had been razed to the ground. He said that rescue work to recover the bodies trapped under the debris continued till late night.

The official added that the deceased were shifted to Janaza Ground in Bannu Cantonment, where their funeral prayers were held with full military honours. He added that the deceased were then shifted to their respective hometowns for burial.

The attack, which was the first major suicide bombing in the agency during the past few years, has gripped the area in a wave of fear after tribesmen were restricted to their homes as the curfew imposed following the attack continued on Sunday.



Life came to a standstill in the agency as civilian movement was curtailed due to round-the-clock patrolling by security forces and aerial surveillance of the area by gunship helicopters.

An official of the political administration said that the process of submission of applications by poll candidates had been scheduled for Sunday.

However, the process had been suspended following the imposition of curfew by the political administration, as all offices had been closed down following the attack.

The attack has come as a surprise for residents of North Waziristan, where despite small scale attacks on military convoys using IED devices, no large scale suicide attack against a security force check post had been carried out since 2009.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2013.