Suicide bomber of Sehwan blast identified, says Sindh IG

AD Khawaja says he is 99% certain that the man caught on the video footage was the attacker

KARACHI: With no major breakthrough in the attack on Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine, the police have only managed to identify the alleged bomber in closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage on Sunday.

Addressing a press briefing at IG House, the Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja said that the suicide bomber who blew himself up at the shrine has been identified through CCTV footage. “My department is 99 per cent certain that the man caught on the video footage was the attacker,” the IG claimed.

[brid video="114324" player="7247" title="Sindh IG AD Khawaja shares CCTV footage of suspected suicide bomber who blew himself up at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's shrine on Thursday "]

Around 88 people were killed and over 200 were injured in the bombing on Thursday. Sehwan police had registered a case on Friday against the suicide bomber and unidentified persons involved in the bombing.

The police, Rangers, and intelligence agencies have also detained several suspects, including three suspected facilitators, during various raids in parts of Sindh.

However, so far the investigators from law enforcement and intelligence agencies have yet to arrest the masterminds and key players involved in the shrine attack.

During the press briefing, the IG said that the alleged facilitator of the attack has been identified as Hafeez Brohi, who has a strong network of terrorism in Sindh. The involvement of Brohi cannot be ruled out in the attack, since the culprit has an established terror network in the province.

The IG added that it had become difficult to identify the suicide bomber, due to the huge crowd present at the shrine at the time of the attack. The investigations are under way and once completed, the law enforcers will be able to arrest the culprits, including the facilitators of the attack, he added.



During his visit to the shrine two days back, the IG had claimed, while quoting initial investigations, that the shrine was attacked by a burqa-clad suicide bomber. However, the video released by the Sindh police on Sunday shows the Sehwan suspected attacker bypassing the security check at the shrine and the alleged bomber can be seen without a burqa.

The bomber struck inside the compound, where a large number of devotees were performing dhamaal – a devotional dance. Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack in which at least 88 people were killed.