Mohmand Agency blast: Victims laid to rest as death toll rises

Sources say at least 14 unidentified bodies still lying in the Ghalanai hospital.

PESHAWAR: Those killed in the deadly twin suicide attacks in Mohmand Agency on Monday have been laid to rest in their native towns in different parts of the tribal agency on Tuesday, locals said.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the death toll of the twin suicide bombing has risen up to 42, as two persons succumbed to their injuries on Tuesday.

Express News correspondent Abdul Wahab’s funeral prayers were offered in his ancestral town of Darrah Yousafkhel, where he was laid to rest in a local graveyard.

Funeral prayers of senior tribal elder Haji Kachkul Khan were offered in Peshawar and his body was dispatched for burial in his native town. His son Ahmed Khan has been named his successor.

Sources said that there were at least 14 unidentified bodies still lying in the Ghalanai hospital.

A local said that security has been tightened following the attack and everyone is being properly searched at different checkposts. He said that the authorities have also completed a search and rescue operation, and debris of the buildings has also been removed from the site.

Halimzai tribe elder, Nasir Khan, who was injured in the attacks, told The Express Tribune that the first blast took place near Halimzai Assistant Political Agent’s (APA) Office, while the other occurred near APA Upper Mohmand office.

He said that both blasts, which were very powerful, happened just seconds apart. Nasir said that Monday was the day the Halimzai tribesmen met at the administration office.

He said that there was no lashkar in Halimzai tribe, while three other tribes including Safi, Beyzai and Khoezai have formed lashkars to fight militants.

Another local said that the blasts occurred when most of the people were busy offering afternoon prayers. He said that the tribal elders from Beyzai and Khoezai tribes were scheduled to meet political administration after the prayers.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2010.