Bomber spills innocent blood in Jamrud

A child, his parents among 11 killed in suicide attack at Khasadar checkpoint

PESHAWAR/ JAMRUD:

A suicide bomber blew himself up close to a security checkpoint on the confluence of administrative boundaries between Peshawar and Khyber Agency on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, among them a five-year-old and his parents, and wounding three dozen more.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the rush-hour attack on the Karkhano checkpoint of the Khasadar force in the Wazirdand area of Jamrud. Witnesses said the bomber was riding a motorcycle. He parked his two-wheeler by a roadside and ran towards a Khasadar official before detonating the explosives strapped to his body.

Initial reports suggested the bomber rammed his explosives-laden motorcycle into the checkpoint and the vehicle of Khasadar Line Officer Haji Nawab Shah. However, SP Peshawar Cantonment Kashif Zulfiqar corroborated the first account.

Forensic experts collected the remains of the bomber from the scene as rescuers evacuated the casualties and firefighters tried to douse the fire on cars and motorcycles.

Police and administration officials confirmed Haji Nawab Shah was the target who at the time was chatting with a local journalist Mehboob Shah Afridi at the checkpoint. Both were among the 11 people killed on the spot. Mehboob Shah, a former president of the Tribal Union of Journalists, who was en route to his office, had stopped at the checkpoint to chat with his friend, the Khasadar line officer.

Political Agent Shahabad Ali Shah, the top administrator of Khyber Agency, told journalists at the scene that 10 people were killed and 36 wounded. The political tehsilsar, Asmatullah Wazir, later confirmed to The Express Tribune that one more body had been retrieved from one of the burnt out vehicles.

Thick smoke soon engulfed the area which was already enveloped in fog and moments later a second low-intensity explosion went off, which officials said was caused by a CNG cylinder in one of the burning vehicles. The roof of the checkpoint was torn off by the blast which also caused extensive damage to several nearby shops.

The blast took place 50 metres inside Khyber Agency, which comes under the control of the political administration. However, the Peshawar police sent Bomb Disposal Unit officials and forensic experts to collect vital evidence, said SP Zulfiqar.

The injured were driven to the Hayatabad Medical Complex while the bodies were shifted to the Jamrud Civil Hospital where they were identified by families. The victims included a five-year-old and his parents. Some of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

TTP senior commander Maqbool Dawar claimed credit for the deadly bombing. He told Reuters it was revenge for what he alleged were the recent deaths of arrested Taliban men while in government custody. He said the journalist was not the target. A TTP splinter group also claimed it was behind the attack.

Security had been put on high alert in Peshawar for the past couple of weeks as snap checking of people and vehicles entering the city from neighbouring Khyber and Mohmand agencies had become stricter.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Khan condemned the blast and directed the Khyber Agency political agent to investigate the attack in collaboration with security forces and submit a report. He announced monetary compensation for the victims.

Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, a top aide to Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, also denounced the deadly bombing and said such cowardly violence could not weaken the government resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country.


Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2016.