A militant and a policeman were killed on Thursday when security forces foiled a suicide bombing at a police school in Sargodha. The militant tried to enter the police training facility with seven kilogrammes of explosives strapped to his body as dozens of recruits ended their morning parade, Sargodha police chief Sheikh Omar told AFP. “He was a suicide bomber but police foiled his attempt,” Omar said, adding that casualties would have been “heavy” had he succeeded in entering the training area.He said security officials at the gate of the school stopped the suspect, in his early 20s, who pulled out a pistol and opened fire, killing one police officer and wounding another. A hand grenade was also found on his corpse. “A constable on duty shot him dead. His presence of mind saved many lives,” local police officer Nasar Hayat said. “The bomber apparently had full details about the morning’s drill schedule but it was just by chance that the person in charge today called off the drill about five minutes early,” Hayat added.
Police said the attack appeared to be a “continuation” of attacks on police and the army in apparent revenge for the siege and storming of the pro-Taliban. Lal Masjid in Islamabad, in which more than 100 people died. In another incident on Thursday a small bomb placed under a cart exploded near a traffic police office in Gujranwala, near Lahore, wounding five policemen and some passers-by, police said, APP reported.
Daily Times Monitor adds: The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has warned of suicide attacks in Karachi, Geo news reported. The CID said that three suicide bombers from Wana had entered Karachi and they may target important people in the city to avenge the death of pro-Taliban militant commander Abdullah Mehsud. It said that Abid Masood, the mastermind of the Nishtar Park blast, had planned suicide attacks in the Sindh capital.