Bombers hit ISI building, police station in NWFP; 10 dead
Suicide bombers on Friday struck an office of the ISI and a police station in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 10 people and injuring 40 others in the latest in a wave of audacious terrorist attacks across the country.
A suicide attacker rammed his explosives-laden car into the gate of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) office within the cantonment of Peshawar city at 6.40 am, killing at least eight persons and injuring 30 others, police and rescue service officials said.
The bomber’s car was packed with about 200 kg of explosives, Inspector General of Police Malik Naveed Khan told reporters. The facade of the building and a nearby check post were destroyed by the blast, which was heard up to 20 km away.
Officials at the Lady Reading Hospital said they had received the bodies of two security personnel, four civilians and a private security guard.
About 30 injured people, including a six-year-old boy, were taken to this hospital. More bodies and injured were taken to a military hospital.
The ISI office on Khyber Road that was targeted is located at a short distance from an army stadium and the official residences of several dignitaries, including the Governor and Chief Minister of the North West Frontier Province.
Witnesses said the explosion was preceded by firing.
In the second suicide attack, another bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a police station in Bannu district of NWFP, killing two persons and injuring 10 others, a news channel reported.
The police station, located on a strategic road leading to Miranshah in North Waziristan tribal region, was destroyed and several persons were feared to be buried in the rubble, the channel said.
Schools in Peshawar were closed after the attack on the ISI office. Police sealed off Khyber Road, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, as investigators scoured the site of the blast for clues.
Peshawar has witnessed some of the worst of the recent wave of suicide attacks and bombings across Pakistan.
Last month, nearly 120 people were killed when a commercial hub in the city was targeted with a car bomb.
No group claimed responsibility for today’s attacks though officials pointed the finger of blame at the Taliban, against whom the army is currently conducting an operation in South Waziristan.
