Sabotage act: Bid to target rail track foiled, bomber blows himself up

He was cornered by the police when he killed himself with a grenade; no one else was injured

A man who was allegedly planting explosives on a railway track in the Domeli Mor area of Jhelum on Thursday, blew himself up after the local police cornered him.

The police also seized a large cache of arms and ammunition from the suspect’s car.

According to the police, a shepherd noticed a man acting suspiciously near the track and informed the police, who responded immediately and reached the spot. They approached the suspect, who was placing explosives on the track. After unsuccessfully attempting to flee while firing at the police, the suspect blew himself up, sources said.

The suspect, who was carrying two identify cards with the same name but two different addresses, was later identified as Muhammad Aziz, a resident of Sirae Alamgir, Jhelum.

One of the identity cards bore an address in Rawalpindi’s Parade Ground area, the police said.

The police also recovered 16 hand grenades, 150 detonators, 100 meter safety fuse, a rifle, three pistols and a large amount of ammunition and explosive material from the car (LOU-5203) the suspect had been using.

The police said that the suspect was apparently attempting to target a train scheduled to cross the area a little later in the day.

Jhelum District Police Officer Mujahid Akbar Khan said that an investigation team has been assigned, while the body of the suspect has been sent to local district headquarters hospital for postmortem.

He said that NADRA has been approached for assistance to confirm the suspect’s identity.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2016.