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Suicide blast in Swat leaves 10 dead, 60 injured
Rocket attack in Peshawar kills two
Tariq Saeed
Peshawar—A deadly suicide blast near a security check post in
restive Swat on Monday morning killed at leasts10 people including
school going kids and serious injuries to more then 50 others. While
the official sources and the eye witness said almost all those
killed and injured were civilians, the local Taliban claimed the
attack was carried out by them and majority of those killed or
wounded were the men in uniform.
On the other hand the provincial metropolis Peshawar was again
rocked by rocket explosions as a number of projectiles landing at a
truck terminal in the outskirts of the city left as many as two
persons dead. The trucks and trawlers parked in the terminal are
used for supplies to NATO forces operating in Afghanistan.
Reports reaching here said a suicide bomber ploughed his explosive
laden vehicle into a school van some 300 meters off a security check
post at scenic Fizza Gatt point on Mingora-Sangota road in Swat
district on Monday. While the blast left some ten people including a
women dead, around sixty persons received serious wounds.
“All those died were civilians including three school children, and
a lone security official was among the injured”. Officials said.
The attacker riding a vehicle in a bid to hit the check post
collided with the school van while overtaking it, the spokesman of
the Swat media centre said adding “The attacker was trying to
approach the check post after bypassing the vehicles’ queue, but his
car exploded on the way,” the official said.
Medical Superintendent of Saidu Group of Hospitals said that nine
bodies and 49 injured were brought to the hospital. Emergency was
declared in the district hospitals after the blast. The dead bodies
were badly mutilated and the authorities could hardly recognize 3
bodies. The critical injured were later transported to Peshawar for
treatment.
The local police and security personnel immediately cordoned off the
entire area and started search operation against the miscreants.
Separately, one militant was killed and several others were injured
in a clash with troops in Mingora, a security official said.
The authorities on Monday imposed an indefinite curfew in Mingora
and troops launched a search operation for militants in Kabal and
other the areas, sources said.
Gunfights were also reported in several other parts of Swat valley
and some arrests were made, the official said , while the local
Taliban said the security forces after the blast got panicky and
resorted to firing on the civilians killing and wounding many.
Meanwhile, two persons were killed and two others injured when
unknown assailants fired rockets on bus terminal on Ring Road in wee
hours of Monday. An official of Peshtakhara police station said that
unknown miscreants fired rockets on the Al-Faisal Terminal where
trucks and crane, used for provision of supplies for NATO forces
stationed in Afghanistan, were parked.
One Hukam Khan resident of Mianwali and Siddiqui resident of Khyber
Agency died on the spot while Saif Khan resident of Mianwali and
Hassan Mehmood sustained critical injuries. The injured were shifted
to hospital. Eyewitnesses said that attackers later threw oil on the
vehicles and put those on fire. Two APC, 2 cranes and around a dozen
trucks were set ablaze.
The PAF jet fighters and the gunship helicopters continued operation
against militants in volatile Bajaur agency and struck hard on their
positions in many areas including Mamood area. Reports say incessant
bombings left at least 6 people dead and wounded many others with
the independent sources claiming that many civilians also fell
victim to the Monday bombardment. |
