9 killed in Pakistan attacks
A female suicide bomber strikes outside a hospital after an earlier shooting.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — A female suicide bomber struck Sunday outside a hospital in Pakistan as the wounded from another attack were being brought in, leaving nine people dead, including six police officers. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks.
Salim Riaz Khan, a senior police officer in Dera Ismail Khan, said gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on police in a residential area, killing two officers. He said the bomber then struck at the entrance to the hospital, killing four additional police officers and three civilians who were visiting their relatives. He said that eight officers were among the 30 wounded, and that many of those injured were in critical condition.
Inayat Ullah, a local forensics expert, said the female attacker set off 15 pounds of explosives packed with nails and ball bearings.
The blast damaged the emergency room and forced it to shut down, according to a hospital official, who said the wounded were taken to a military hospital. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility but did not acknowledge that the suicide bomber was a woman. The group has launched scores of attacks going back nearly two decades, but almost all of them were carried out by men.
Pakistan’s military has carried out several major operations against the Pakistani Taliban and other militants along the porous border with Afghanistan. The violence has diminished, but the militants still make their presence known through occasional attacks, mainly targeting security forces and religious minorities.