Share this story!            

Suicide bomber kills 20 outside Peshawar court

* Three policemen, lawyer among dead
* At least 50 injured, five in critical condition
* Around 8-to-10 kilogrammes of explosives used in attack

By Manzoor Ali Shah

PESHAWAR: At least 20 people – including three policemen – were killed and 50 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the main gate of the Judicial Complex on Khyber Road on Thursday, said hospital staff and officials.

According to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) figures, 20 people died and 50 others were injured in the attack. Five of those injured are said to be in critical condition.

Thursday’s suicide attack was the sixth in 11 days in the provincial capital, with the military moving deeper into the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan.

The bomber struck at around 10:20am at the main gate of the complex, which houses district lower courts and is close to the Peshawar High Court (PHC), Civil Secretariat, the NWFP Assembly Flag Staff House and other government offices and installations.

Peshawar District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sahibzada Muhammad Anis told reporters that it was a suicide attack, and the bomber had tried to enter the court premises.

“He was on foot and detonated his explosives when security personnel tried to stop him,” said Anis, adding that three policemen were among the dead.

Cantonment SP Nisar Marwat told Daily Times that around eight-to-10 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack. He put the death toll at 16.

The injured were rushed to LRH, where an emergency was declared, according to an official statement. It said a lawyer was also among the dead, while a number of buildings in the proximity of the complex had been damaged and vehicles destroyed.

“I was on my way to work when the bomber struck,” a witness – whose car was badly damaged and splattered with blood and pieces of flesh – told Daily Times. He said the blast was followed by wails and cries, with a thick layer of smoke hanging in the air.

An advocate, Shaukat Ali, told Daily Times that he was in the upper storey of the complex at the time of the attack. “It was a very strong blast ... it rocked the whole building, and there was blood and pieces of flesh all over the place.”

The complex is located opposite to Pearl Continental Hotel, which was bombed earlier in June this year.

Heavy contingents of police and army personnel cordoned off the site and closed Khyber Road to all kinds of traffic following the attack.

According to the APP news agency, NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour visited the site of the attack and LRH, and told journalists that the government would continue operations against the Taliban until the elimination of the group. He strongly condemned the attack at the Judicial Complex.

NWFP Governor Owais Ghani also condemned the blast.

Home | Main

Share this story!