Hospital attacked: Blast destroys EPI office, dental block

Police believe the bomb was placed inside DHQ hospital.

SWABI:

A loud bang heard within a mile’s radius from the police station in Swabi at 7:10pm had everyone worried. The impact of the blast destroyed an office of the Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) and three rooms of a dental block in the District Headquarters Hospital.

DSP Swabi Izhar Khan told The Express Tribune that the incident took place in the evening. A heavy contingent of the force went to the blast site immediately.

The police believe unidentified militants detonated the bomb which was kept inside the DHQ hospital. According to the DSP, the bomb was placed behind a pillar in front of the EPI office where children regularly come to get vaccinated for various diseases, including polio. He said the bomb blew the EPI office into smithereens and partially ruined three rooms of the dental block. The impact was so strong that the structure of the building collapsed after 15 minutes.



Khan said that a case was filed against the unidentified militants while no loss of life was reported.

Security official gunned down

A security official was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Friday morning.

The SHO of Kalu Khan police station, Rajab Ali Khan, said that District Security Branch official Muhammad Sabir was travelling on Swabi-Mardan Road at 8am when two unidentified motorcyclists opened fire at him. According to the SHO, Sabir was his way to the office in Swabi. He said that the official died on the spot. The post-mortem report revealed that Sabir had sustained bullet wounds on his chest and head.

Sabir’s funeral prayers were offered at Police Lines at 11am.

He leaves behind a widow, three daughters and three sons. A case has been filed against the assailants.

Doctor shot dead

Dr Yar Muhammad was killed by unknown militants at his private clinic at 5pm in Swabi’s Topi Bazaar.

SHO Zarif Khan from the Topi police told The Express Tribune that the doctor was a Medical Officer at Gandaf Basic Health Unit and was also practicing medicine at a clinic he owned, Medi Zone Topi Clinic. On Friday evening a man walked into the clinic pretending to be a patient who was there for a routine checkup. The man shot him twice in the chest while the doctor sat in his chair. The assailant managed to escape. The SHO said Dr Yar Muhammad was from the Malikabad area of Topi and had been running the clinic for years.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2014.