World | Pakistan
Suicide bomb at police station kills 3, injures 31
Incident marks Peshawar's fifth bombing in a week
- By Mohsin Ali, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 November 17, 2009
- Image Credit: AP
- A Pakistani woman holds her child who was injured after a suicide car bombing at a police station near Peshawar Monday.
Islamabad: The fifth suicide bomb attack in about a week near Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, left three people dead and 31 injured yesterday, provincial officials said.
Police said the bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a boundary wall between a police station and a mosque in Badabair, near Peshawar.
The attack, near a Pakistan air force base, razed the mosque as well as a portion of the police station.
Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain linked the attack to militants reacting to the military operation in South Waziristan tribal region.
"We have to continue this war against terrorists and have to keep our nerves," Hussain said. He added that people needed to demonstrate patience and courage because "we have to defeat militancy at all costs in order to achieve peace and stability."
He said the provincial government was seeking funds from the federal government for procuring modern equipment needed to pre-empt attacks by militants. A military statement said the security forces were consolidating their positions on all three axes in South Waziristan.
Since the start of the offensive a month ago, the Army has killed hundreds of militants, according to military figures.
Militants have killed more than 300 civilians and security personnel in the last month and are trying to weaken the country's resolve in order to continue their military operation in South Waziristan where Al Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.
Wired pickup
Police opened fire on the pickup truck as it approached a checkpoint in front of the police station, but the driver was able to detonate the explosives, said Peshawar Police Chief Liaqat Ali Khan.
"The sound of the blast was very loud, and when I rushed out from my home I saw everything was destroyed," Tarek Hassan said.
Local television footage showed rescue workers searching for survivors amid a tangle of bricks and twisted metal.
Police explosives expert, Tanvir Ahmad, estimated the truck was carrying about 250 kilogrammes of high explosives, a much larger amount than has been used in other bombings carried out in recent weeks.
"This is an obvious reaction to the operation in the tribal areas," said Sahibzada Anees, a senior government official in the area.
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