7 killed in series of suicide bombings
peshawar — A series of suicide attacks in northwestern Pakistan killed at least seven people on Wednesday following an almost three-month-long lull in the volatile region.
A breakaway Taleban faction claimed responsibility for one of the attacks — a bombing that targeted the area’s administrative tribal headquarters. Three policemen and two passers-by died in that attack, which took place in the Mohmand Agency near the Afghan border.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, or Freedom Movement, claimed the attack in a text message sent to AP. The same militant faction had said it was behind a deadly suicide bombing earlier this week in Lahore.
The Mohmand explosion went off at the main gate of the tribal headquarters in Ghalanai, just as the workday was about to start, said Hameedullah Khan, a local government official.
Khan, whose office is inside the compound, said the grounds are home to residences, offices and training facilities for the local administration and police employees. Hundreds of local residents come daily on business to the tribal headquarters, located 45km from Peshawar, the provincial capital.
The bombing was followed by gunshots, Khan added.
The Pakistan Army said the bomber was accompanied by another terrorist, who tried to force his way into the compound after the explosion went off but that security guards opened fire and killed him. The army statement said there was a higher level of vigilance among the local security forces following intelligence that would-be attackers had infiltrated the area from neighbouring Afghanistan.
Shortly afterward, a suicide bomber on a motor bike rammed into an official van in which some judges were travelling, senior superintendent of Peshawar police, Sajjad Khan, told media. He said three female judges and one male judge had been taken to a nearby hospital while the driver of the van and a passerby had been killed. The attack took place in a wealthy neighbourhood of the city, where Taleban gunmen attacked a military-run school in December 2014 and killed 134 children and 19 adults.
Local Geo and Express TV channels cited police sources saying the bomb went off near the Hayatabad Medical Complex.
Main opposition leader Imran Khan was due to visit the hospital, but he was unharmed in the explosion, the two TV channels reported.
Meanwhile, a would-be suicide bomber died when he prematurely detonated his explosives near a security convoy about 10km from the tribal headquarters, police officer Suhail Khalid said.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said it was behind Wednesday’s attack. The suicide bombings reflect an uptick in militant attacks after an almost three-month lull.