[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Thirty-six persons were injured, some critically, when a lone suicide bomber rammed his Initially, the death toll had been given as six but it was revised to one killed (the bomber himself) by the law enforcing agencies. Additional Inspector General of Police, Rawalpindi, Nasir Khan Durrani, confirmed that it was a suicide attack, saying that body parts of the suicide bomber and other evidence had been collected. Eight vehicles, standing around the targeted bus, were completely destroyed while the windowpanes of buildings and shops in a radius of over half-a-kilometer were shattered. Considering the traffic congestion in the area, the death toll could have been higher but fortunately it was not to be a perfect kill for the terrorists.
While Baitullah Mehsud remains the usual suspect, no group had claimed responsibility of the attack till the filing of this report. Teams of police, Rescue-1122, and Edhi Trust rushed to the scene and shifted the body and wounded people to different hospitals of the city.
Eyewitnesses told this correspondent that a young bike rider, aged between 20-22, hit the left side of the bus and almost immediately blew himself up. The explosion sound, according to one witness, was deafening and immediately the entire area was covered in dark clouds. The road was covered with glass shreds, scattered pools of blood, flesh pieces and broken bones, while a strong stench of burnt flesh and gunpowder hung over the area.
Another witness said he saw the bike-riding young bomber coming from a street, adding that he came straight towards the bus as it stopped at the traffic signal and came in between a car and the bus. He said the youngster blew himself up after a couple of seconds. Body parts of the suicide bomber and the bus scattered in a radius of hundreds of meters, he added. Local volunteers rushed to the scene to rescue the people trapped in the bus and other vehicles affected by the blast and started shifting them to hospitals, he maintained.
The witnesses said the bus was carrying employees of the Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC).Additional IG Rawalpindi Nasir Khan Durrani, while talking to a group of media persons at the crime scene, said that the government bus, carrying about 30 staff members, coming from the Islamabad side and heading towards Mandra was hit by the suicide attacker at about 4.15 pm when it stopped at the signal. He said that the attacker hit the bus from the fuel tank side, causing more damage.
The additional IG had initially told reporters that six people had been killed in the blast, but he later revised that figure. "I was at the spot and was told that the toll was five to six, but later we checked with hospitals and they confirmed only one dead and 36 wounded."
The additional IG said the terrorists failed to hit the installations of sensitive agencies due to effective security measures and now they had chosen to hit moving targets.Durrani said the bombers adopted a new strategy for suicide attacks and now they had started using motorcycles for attacks. "Obviously, the attack is a reaction to the military offensive in the tribal regions and other parts of the NWFP," he said.Durrani said security agencies focused on checking vehicles and the terrorists used a motorcycle to hit their target, adding that security would be further strengthened.
| "All vehicles are being checked at various checkpoints and sniffer dogs are also being used, but motorcycles were not checked in similar manner in the past." |
A joint investigation team has been constituted, he said adding the key terrorists involved in suicide blast of Pir Wadhai Chowk on March 16, had been arrested. He said that local terrorists were also involved in this act.
APP adds: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani in their separate messages strongly condemned the bomb blast in Rawalpindi. Both expressed sorrow over the plight of the injured victims and the damage to property and ordered an inquiry into the matter. Both also asked the concerned authorities to ensure the provision of immediate relief and best medical care to the injured. Others who condemned the attack included Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira and NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani.