Most of Mohmand blast victims were teenagers

Khasadar says bomber blew himself near last row of congregation where youth was standing.

SHABQADAR: At least 24 were teenagers out of the 35 people who lost their lives in the blast in Anbar tehsil of Mohmand Agency during Friday prayers on September 16.

While talking to The Express Tribune about mostly teenagers being killed, a khasadar said men of all ages, especially youth offer the Friday prayers and it is said that religion suggests young people should stand in the last rows of a congregation during prayers. Since the last row was near the entrance and the suicide bomber detonated himself near that spot, he added, most of the teenagers standing there lost their lives. While the middle and old aged men died or got injured when the roof of the mosque caved in after the blast.

Another official said teenagers have always fallen prey to militancy. He added the attack took place in Payee Khan village of Kharai Dara in Anbar tehsil. Militants know that the tribespeople of the area fought them in 2008 and they were still not letting them enter their area, the official added.

Post-attack measures

The political agent said suspects have been arrested from the area and investigation was under way to find out how the suicide bomber entered the area and who facilitated the attack. He said this after attending the prayers that were held on Sunday for those who died in the blast.

He added there was no such threat in the area it was located in a far-off place and local elders were cooperating with the security forces and political administration.

In his address that was held after the prayers, the political agent said they have chalked out standard operating procedures for the security of the agency to prevent such brutal attacks from taking place in future. He added no public gathering would be held without the political administration’s permission whereas all the mosques will have to have their own guards during Friday prayers. He said all those places where more than four men gather will be required to have metal detectors and walkthrough gates.

The political agent said the number of deceased increased due to communication issues as the area was situated in a remote place and there were no basic health units or proper roads to take victims to health facilities.

A political administration official said the prayer leader of the mosque, Sher Gul, was arrested over suspicion as he was not present during prayers, on September 16, the day when the blast happened.

Name	Age	Father’s name
Jamshid	9	Ghaffar
Wasal	10	Ikhtiyar Gul
Dawood Shah	12	Lal Jan
Farhad	12	Samiul Haq
Rizwan	12	Ghaffar
Mushtaq	14	Rana Khan
Waheedullah	14	Saeed Gul
Arab Gul	15	Khiyal Gul
Fazal Rabi	15	Gul Basar
Rasool Khan	15	Juma Khan
Luqman	15	Mian Khan
Numan	15	Rasool Shah
Hazrat Gul	16	Awal Gul
Shahab	17	Ranra Gul
Ayub	17	Hashim Khan
Irfan	18	Awal Gul
Zubair	19	Naseeb Gul
Fazal Wahid	20	Lal Basar
Noorullah	20	Zahirullah

Name	Age	Father’s name
Ghafoor Khan	20	Baa Khan
Waheed Gul	20	Bonir
Naeem	20	Ranra Gul
Baserullah	20	Rehmatullah
Shakir	20	Sher Zaman
Zar Wali Khan	22	Muzafar Khan
Zahir Shah	22	Lal Jan
Wahab	22	Ranra Gul
Mazir	22	Ziarat
Ibrahim	22	Mamoor Sheikh
Muhammad Zeb	23	Ziarat
Rahim Gul	25	Nasim Gul
Zakirullah	25	Umer Gul
Noorullah	25	Mohammad Raziq
Rehman Shah	30	Wasli Khan
Gulab	60	Khanzada

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2016.