A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a police outpost yesterday, killing eight people in an area where the military has been battling Islamic militants loyal to a fugitive cleric, an official said. Five civilians including two children and three policemen died in the attack at the Nimgole post, the headquarters of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah, said chief military spokesman Maj. Gen. Arshad Waheed. Several others were wounded. The outpost is near Imam Dheri, the headquarters of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah that troops captured Thursday. "There's nothing we could say about the perpetrators before investigating, but involvement by remnants of Fazlullah's militants can't be ruled out," said Amjad Iqbal, a spokesman for the Swat military command center.
The attack occurred a day after the commander of military operations in Swat said insurgents in the area were on the run but remained dangerous. Waheed said militants were trying to strike back while on the run. "Suicide attacks are something that is hard to avoid, but security forces in Swat are in control of the region," Waheed said.
Followers of Fazlullah had fended off security forces sent to reinforce the area's beleaguered police since July, but have been scattered by a major army operation launched last month. Maj Gen Nasser Janjua said Saturday his 20,000-strong force has retaken all the towns seized by the militants, killing 290 of them and capturing 140, while driving a hard-core group of some 400-500 into the Piochar side valley. Three bullet-riddled bodies were found in the Samgota area, some 22 miles northwest of Mingora, the main town in Swat. "Evidence found at the scene suggested the dead men were local militants apparently killed by the local residents of the area," Iqbal said.