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103 killed, over 270 injured in Pakistan bomb attacks - The Hindu: Mobile Edition
A total of 103 people were
killed and over 270 injured in
six bomb attacks in the restive
Pakistani provinces of
Balochistan and Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, marking a sharp spurt in
terrorist violence ahead of the
countrys next general election. Terrorists targeted a security
forces vehicle and a Shia-
majority neighbourhood in
Quetta, the capital of
Balochistan, and a religious
congregation in the Swat Valley of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,
an erstwhile stronghold of the
Taliban. Sixty-nine people were killed
and over 160 injured in the
worst attacks, which occurred
late in the evening at Alamdar
Road and Airport Road in
Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. A suicide bomber blew himself
up inside a snooker club on
Alamdar Road, which has two
Shia prayer halls and a sizeable
population of Shia Hazaras. As media teams and security
forces gathered in the area,
three more bombs went off
within minutes of each other,
media reports said.Cameraman
Imran Sheikh and reporter Saif-ur-Rehman of Samaa TV
channel, two police officers
and several rescue workers
were among the dead. Several reporters, cameramen
and technicians of news
channels were injured. The first attack of the day also
occurred in Quetta, where a
powerful bomb went off under
a security forces vehicle at the
busy Bacha Khan Chowk this
afternoon. Twelve people were killed and
over 40 others injured. The blast was heard from
several kilometres away. The
roundabout, located near
several markets, was crowded
at the time of the explosion.
Officials at a nearby hospital said two children and a
Frontier Corps personnel were
among the dead. Several
children and security personnel
were wounded. Police said the blast was
caused by a timed explosive
device planted under the
security forces vehicle. An
estimated 20 kg of explosives
was used in the attack.The blast caused a large crater and
destroyed about 10 cars. Hours later, 22 people were
killed and nearly 70 injured in
an explosion at a tablighi
markaz (preaching centre)
near Mingora, the main town
in Swat Valley, this evening. The blast occurred in the
basement of the centre at
Takhta Band Road. Initial
reports said the blast was
caused by a gas cylinder but
police subsequently confirmed the incident was an act of
terrorism. Some reports said the attack
was carried out by a teenage
suicide bomber though this
could not be independently
confirmed. Officials at a hospital in Saidu
Sharif town said the dead and
injured were hit by ball
bearings, which are often used
in explosive devices. They
confirmed 22 deaths and said several of the injured were in a
serious condition. No group claimed
responsibility for any of the
attacks. Several militant
groups, including the Taliban
and Baloch nationalist
organisations, are active in Balochistan. The Swat Valley
was a stronghold of the local
Taliban till the army conducted
an operation to flush out
militants in early 2009. Most of the top Taliban
commanders of the region
escaped to Afghanistan.
Pakistan is scheduled to go to
the polls sometime in April or
May. Anita Joshua adds With the sirens of emergency
vehicles pealing through a
good part of the day and till
late in the evening, fear
overwhelmed Quetta which is
no stranger to terrorist strikes. While the first blast took place
in a marketplace, the two
other explosions were near
Imambargahs. According to
the BBC, the United Baloch
Army claimed responsibility for the attack on the marketplace
that killed over a dozen
people. The dead included a
cameraman of a private
television network and a senior
police official; both of whom
had rushed to the scene of the
first blast when the second explosion took place nearby.
Several other journalists were
also injured in the blast. In Swat, the explosion targeted
the Tableeghi Markaz and took
place during a weekly meeting
of the Tableeghi Jamaat.
According to the police, a
gathering of over 1000 people were present on the premises
at the time as a cleric was
preaching. No organisation
had claimed responsibility for
the attack till late in the
evening.
A total of 103 people were
killed and over 270 injured in
six bomb attacks in the restive
Pakistani provinces of
Balochistan and Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, marking a sharp spurt in
terrorist violence ahead of the
countrys next general election. Terrorists targeted a security
forces vehicle and a Shia-
majority neighbourhood in
Quetta, the capital of
Balochistan, and a religious
congregation in the Swat Valley of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,
an erstwhile stronghold of the
Taliban. Sixty-nine people were killed
and over 160 injured in the
worst attacks, which occurred
late in the evening at Alamdar
Road and Airport Road in
Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. A suicide bomber blew himself
up inside a snooker club on
Alamdar Road, which has two
Shia prayer halls and a sizeable
population of Shia Hazaras. As media teams and security
forces gathered in the area,
three more bombs went off
within minutes of each other,
media reports said.Cameraman
Imran Sheikh and reporter Saif-ur-Rehman of Samaa TV
channel, two police officers
and several rescue workers
were among the dead. Several reporters, cameramen
and technicians of news
channels were injured. The first attack of the day also
occurred in Quetta, where a
powerful bomb went off under
a security forces vehicle at the
busy Bacha Khan Chowk this
afternoon. Twelve people were killed and
over 40 others injured. The blast was heard from
several kilometres away. The
roundabout, located near
several markets, was crowded
at the time of the explosion.
Officials at a nearby hospital said two children and a
Frontier Corps personnel were
among the dead. Several
children and security personnel
were wounded. Police said the blast was
caused by a timed explosive
device planted under the
security forces vehicle. An
estimated 20 kg of explosives
was used in the attack.The blast caused a large crater and
destroyed about 10 cars. Hours later, 22 people were
killed and nearly 70 injured in
an explosion at a tablighi
markaz (preaching centre)
near Mingora, the main town
in Swat Valley, this evening. The blast occurred in the
basement of the centre at
Takhta Band Road. Initial
reports said the blast was
caused by a gas cylinder but
police subsequently confirmed the incident was an act of
terrorism. Some reports said the attack
was carried out by a teenage
suicide bomber though this
could not be independently
confirmed. Officials at a hospital in Saidu
Sharif town said the dead and
injured were hit by ball
bearings, which are often used
in explosive devices. They
confirmed 22 deaths and said several of the injured were in a
serious condition. No group claimed
responsibility for any of the
attacks. Several militant
groups, including the Taliban
and Baloch nationalist
organisations, are active in Balochistan. The Swat Valley
was a stronghold of the local
Taliban till the army conducted
an operation to flush out
militants in early 2009. Most of the top Taliban
commanders of the region
escaped to Afghanistan.
Pakistan is scheduled to go to
the polls sometime in April or
May. Anita Joshua adds With the sirens of emergency
vehicles pealing through a
good part of the day and till
late in the evening, fear
overwhelmed Quetta which is
no stranger to terrorist strikes. While the first blast took place
in a marketplace, the two
other explosions were near
Imambargahs. According to
the BBC, the United Baloch
Army claimed responsibility for the attack on the marketplace
that killed over a dozen
people. The dead included a
cameraman of a private
television network and a senior
police official; both of whom
had rushed to the scene of the
first blast when the second explosion took place nearby.
Several other journalists were
also injured in the blast. In Swat, the explosion targeted
the Tableeghi Markaz and took
place during a weekly meeting
of the Tableeghi Jamaat.
According to the police, a
gathering of over 1000 people were present on the premises
at the time as a cleric was
preaching. No organisation
had claimed responsibility for
the attack till late in the
evening.
