Terrorism strikes: Bid to take hundreds of policemen hostage fails

Suicide hit at Peshawar police station leaves 4 dead.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN/ PESHAWAR:

A suicide attack on a police station situated in the heart of Peshawar left at least four policemen dead on Friday.

Three suicide attackers, armed with guns and grenades, stormed a C-Division police station in a congested locality of the city in a bid to take hundreds of policemen hostage.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Imtiaz Altaf told reporters that the militants hurled hand grenades at security men on the gates, which triggered crossfire.

He added that the policemen promptly responded to the attack and the bombers had “no other option left but to explode themselves.”

The Abdullah Azzam Brigade has claimed responsibility for the attack. The outfit’s spokesman, Abu Zarar, said speaking from an unknown location, that the attack was a reaction to the killing of a top militant leader, Badar Mansoor, in a drone strike in Waziristan.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the incident lasted almost 45 minutes creating panic throughout the area, and leaving the residents petrified.

At least four policemen, including two officers, were killed in the ghastly incident and six others were injured.

Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) reported that five to seven kilogrammes of explosives were used during the attack. Meanwhile the body parts of the bombers along with their fingerprints were sent for DNA tests, a senior official of the BDU said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2012.