Seven killed in blast at Pakistan hospital
▶ Tahrik-e-Taliban claims responsibility for attack by female suicide bomber in Dera Ismail Khan
Seven people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a device outside a hospital in north-western Pakistan yesterday, injuring 26 others.
Two police officers were also shot dead during the terror strike. The Tahrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Dera Ismail Khan early yesterday morning.
The group is often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, although it is separate from the extremist group across the border in Afghanistan.
Local officials said the attack took place after two police officers were killed at a roadside checkpoint outside the city.
Officials suggested the bomber was wearing a burqa but the Tahrik-e-Taliban did not claim the attacker was a woman.
Inayat Ullah, a local forensics expert, said the female attacker set off 7 kilograms of explosives packed with nails and ball bearings. Salim Khan, a senior police officer in Dera Ismail Khan, said gunmen on motorcycles shot at police in a residential area, killing two officers.
He said the bomber struck at the entrance to a hospital, killing another four police officers and three civilians who were visiting relatives.
He said eight police officers were among the people injured by the blast, many of whom were in critical condition.
The attack caused damage to the emergency room and forced it to shut down, a hospital official said. Those injured in the blast were taken to a military hospital for treatment, the official said.
“When [the police officers’] bodies were taken to the main hospital, a suicide bomber, believed to be a female wearing a burqa, triggered an explosive-laden jacket and caused huge losses,” said Waqar Ahmad, a local police officer.
He said the damage caused by the blast forced some of those injured to be transferred to other cities.
Tahrik-e-Taliban spokesman Muhammed Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack, which he said was carried out in revenge for the killings of two of the group’s commanders by counter-terrorism police about a month ago.
He denied the bomber was female.
The group launched scores of attacks going back about two decades, but almost all of them were carried out by men.
Dera Ismail Khan was the target of several of suicide bombing over the past decade as the Pakistani military carried out a campaign to suppress militant attacks in the area, an important hub in the $60 billion (Dh220.39bn) China Pakistan Economic Corridor.