Security forces thwart suicide car bombing in Wana

Five security forces get injured after their bunker is affected from the blast.

PESHAWAR/DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Five security officials sustained minor injuries in Wana, South Waziristan after they intercepted and destroyed an explosive laden vehicle, officials said on Saturday.

A suicide bomber riding in an explosive laden vehicle was intercepted at the gate of Wana Scouts Camp, in South Waziristan. Security forces on guard, realising the lone driver’s intentions, fired and killed the bomber.

“The attacker tried to target the Zalia Gate of the Scouts Camp” an official told The Express Tribune, “the vehicle which was intercepted by security men on guard was fired upon immediately after it was intercepted.”

The official, while confirmed five security men had sustained “minor injuries”, added that the cause of the injuries were not splinters from the exploding vehicle, rather from parts of the bunker which fell due to the intensity of the explosion.

Sources told The Express Tribune that some men had fired rockets preceding the attack to divert attention of security forces as the pick-up tried to target the military installation in the main city of South Waziristan Agency. “The explosion was so loud that it could be heard for a distance of up to three kilometres,” a resident of the area described.

Wana, which is part of the Wazir tribe territory, enjoys a “peace treaty” between the government and the tribe. The area has seen much violence since bodies of two security personnel were discovered from the main market in the town last month.

However, a Jirga of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe has been given a deadline to hand over the culprits along with the kidnapped security personnel within fifteen days. That deadline expires on April 15.