Suspected terrorist blows himself up to avoid arrest near Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: A suspected terrorist blew himself up in Wah Garden, some 15-20 kilometres away from Rawalpindi on Tuesday afternoon, officials told The Express Tribune.

Officials from the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) said that the person was not wearing a suicide vest.

A police officer who was on duty near the area of the incident, said that the suspect came out of a Rawalpindi bound passenger van, when the vehicle was intercepted.

“When the police tried to arrest him, he started running. We fired at him while he hurled a grenade in retaliation,” the police official said.

“The police chased him in the fields but the suspect entered a close-ended street where he pulled grenade, put it on the ground and threw himself on it, blowing himself up,” the policeman said.

Five policemen received minor injuries in the blast. They were identified as Muhammad Iftikhar, Muhammad Amjid, Nasir, Mehmood and Muhammad Hussain.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the incident and ordered the police to provide detailed report of the blast.