In the line of fire: Bomber kills 15 outside polio vaccination centre

25-plus wounded in the Quetta attack claimed by two proscribed groups

QUETTA:

A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people, mostly policemen, outside a polio vaccination centre in an upscale neighbourhood of Quetta Wednesday morning in a stark reminder of the security challenges faced by eradication efforts in Pakistan. Two proscribed militant groups claimed credit for the deadly bombing that also left more than 25 people injured.

The bomber struck amidst a heavy contingent of police, Balochistan Constabulary (BC) and Frontier Corps (FC) outside the Health Care Centre in Satellite Town as policemen prepared to escort vaccinators on the last day of a three-day immunisation campaign. “The suicide bomber approached the security contingent and detonated the explosives strapped to his body,” Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told The Express Tribune.

“Thirteen police and BC personnel, one FC soldier and one civilian were martyred in the bombing,” he said. “The victims included three police inspectors and four sub-inspectors,” he added. “More than 25 people were also wounded.”

The Express Tribune reporter saw the wreckage of three burnt out vehicles at the bombsite where human flesh, torn off uniforms, boots and caps of policemen lay strewn across the blood-splattered road, walls, and electricity pylons. As a security cordon was thrown around the site, investigators collected vital forensic evidence and ambulances ferried the casualties to hospital.

Medics at Quetta’s Civil Hospital confirmed they have received 15 bodies and 25 injured people. “Two of the injured have been referred to the Combined Military Hospital for treatment of their life-threatening wounds,” Dr Abdul Rehman, the medical superintendent of Civil Hospital, told journalists. “A state of emergency has already been declared at the hospital and all doctors and paramedics have been asked to report.”

Witnesses described horrifying scenes at the site. “We were gathered outside the Health Care Centre at 8.55am when suddenly a piercing explosion rang out,” said Muhammad Younas, a policeman who survived the blast with some injuries. “I saw five of my colleagues burning in a fire – but I could do nothing,” he said.

Shabir Ahmed, another injured policeman, said they were preparing to escort vaccinators for various neighbourhoods of the city when the bomber struck. “I was thrown on the ground by the impact of the blast. I could see nothing because there was thick black smoke and dust everywhere,” he added. “Then I heard people screaming and sirens of ambulances,” he continued, adding that he had received shrapnel wounds to his stomach, hands, legs and feet.

Bomb Disposal Squad officials said the bomber carried seven to nine kilos of explosives in his suicide vest. DIG Imtiaz Shah said investigators have found the bomber’s head from the bombsite.

He said the police and FC personnel laid down their lives to save civilians. “There would have been several civilian casualties, had the bomber managed to enter the main building,” DIG Shah said. “Such cowardly attacks cannot dent our brave police force’s resolve to defeat terrorists.”

A spokesman for Jundullah, a banned sectarian extremist outfit, said his group was responsible. “We claim the bomb blast on the polio office. In the coming days, we will make more attacks on polio vaccination offices and polio workers,” he said by telephone. The Khurasan group of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan also claimed credit for the attack in a statement emailed to journalists by its purported spokesman Mohammad Khorasani.

The dead were identified as Faheem Ahmad, Khan Muhammad, Abdul Qadir, Faizullah, Jumma Khan, Abdul Khaliq, Rasool Bakhsh, Muhammad Asif, Hazoor Bakhash, Ali Gul, Ali Ahmed and Tauseef. They belonged to Khuzdar and Naushki.

Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre Balochistan Dr Syed Saifur Rehman said the suicide attack was a stark reminder of the security challenges the polio eradication programme faced in Pakistan. “However, the vaccination campaign will continue across the province at all costs,” he said in a statement.

Anwarul Haq Kakar, a spokesman for the provincial government, also vowed the polio immunisation drive would continue. “We won’t allow the nefarious designs of the terrorists to succeed, we will eliminate polio,” he said.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio, a crippling childhood disease, remains endemic. Attempts to eradicate it have been badly hit by militant attacks on immunisation teams that have claimed nearly 80 lives since December 2012.

After the deadly attack, Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri went into a huddle with senior police and administration officials to review the security situation. He directed the law enforcement agencies to hunt down the perpetrators at all costs. “We are in a state of war, negligence will be tolerated,” he said.

Zehri directed the law enforcement agencies to take action against terrorists, their facilitators and against those who provide shelter them.


Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2016.