Katcheri attack probe: The faces of death

Police release sketches of suicide bombers; no significant leads so far.

ISLAMABAD:

The police have released sketches of the faces of two suicide bombers who blew themselves up inside the F-8 district courts compound in a gun-and-suicide attack on Monday. The attack killed 11 and injured around 30 people.

The sketches, based on descriptions from eyewitnesses including people injured in the attack, show that the two attackers were between their late-teens and early 20s.

One of the bombers sported a light beard and wore a hat, while the other attacker had a fuller beard and curly hair, according to the sketches released on Wednesday.

At the same time, the police, still unsure who the attackers were or what their motive was, have appealed to the public for help. People with any information on the attackers can contact the police on 0300-500-0577, 0333-577-7444 and 051-926-1510. The details of informants will be kept confidential, the police assured.

Meanwhile, a joint investigation team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Muhammad Rizwan continues its inquiry in to the deadly incident. On Wednesday, the team --- which includes officials from civilian and military intelligence agencies --- also questioned the friends and family of the dead and injured in a bid to determine if the attackers were targeting a specific individual.

The Police said they are treating the incident as a terrorist attack and will investigate it from every angle. But the investigation has not hit upon any helpful leads yet.

“Nothing is clear so far,” one police official said.

Adding to the investigators problems, eyewitnesses, police and intelligence reports continue to disagree on the details of the attack and the number of attackers involved in the incident.

A senior police official told The Express Tribune that law enforcement authorities were sticking with the ‘two attacker theory’ because they only have concrete evidence on two suicide bombers. The First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Margalla Police Station also refers to only two unidentified assailants.

But eyewitnesses have consistently claimed there were between four and six armed men involved in the attack, which claimed 11 lives including an Additional District and Sessions judge and four lawyers.

Crime scene investigators indicated on Monday that the two bombers could have had three to four accomplices who escaped, while investigators also believe the attackers split into two groups to move through the maze-like alleys inside the compound, which does not have a complete boundary wall.

Intelligence reports also laid doubt on the two attacker theory, with preliminary reports submitted to the interior ministry by the intelligence agencies suggesting there were at least three to four attackers including the bombers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2014.