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14 killed, 17 injured in Rawalpindi suicide blast

* Police say it would be premature to decide if bomber’s original target was lawyers’ long march

By Imran Asghar and Amir Yasin

RAWALPINDI: At least 14 people were killed – according to a private TV channel – and 17 injured on Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the busiest bus stand of the city at Pirwadhai.

Sources, however, out the death toll at 9.

It is being suspected that the bomber would have struck the lawyers’ long march had it passed through the area instead of being called off, said a security official.

Rescue 1122 sources said six bodies and 16 injured people were immediately shifted to District Headquarters Hospital, while the other three bodies and one injured person were taken to Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

Sources said investigators said the original target of the bomber could have been the participants of the long march, which was scheduled to pass through the area.

RPO: Regional Police Officer (RPO) Nasir Durrani, however, told the media that it would be premature to decide whether the bomber’s original target was the long march.

He said the attack was apparently aimed at creating panic among the general public, because recently, security forces and important personalities had been the target of terrorists.

Durrani said police had cordoned off the entire area and collected evidence from the crime scene, including body parts of the suicide bomber. “The suicide bomber blew himself up on a motorbike outside a restaurant, which was set up close to the cab stand,” said Durrani.

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