Badhaber blast: Minor’s body found after three days

PESHAWAR:

The body of 12-year-old Amir, a resident of Mera Masho Gagar who went missing in the wake of Sunday’s blast in Badhaber on Kohat Road, was finally found inside a building a few metres away from the blast site.

Following the attack, rescue workers were unable to find the boy despite hectic efforts. Police said members of Amir’s family had searched for the body in several hospitals, but had given up after 24 hours. The boy had then been declared missing.

“The body was recovered from a derelict building near the site of the explosion,” said an official of the local police station, adding the body has been handed over to his family.

Amir had reportedly come to Badhaber with his grandmother, who was also killed in the explosion which was targeting a Frontier Corps (FC) convoy. The powerful bomb ripped through the marketplace close to the police station, killing 17 people on the spot. The death toll since then has increased to 20.

A police official earlier told The Express Tribune the bomb was planted in a car parked near the marketplace. He added police and security personnel opened indiscriminate fire immediately after the blast, leading to further casualties and delay in the rescue operation.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2013.