PESHAWAR, Aug 11: A young girl blew herself up at a police checkpost inside the historic Lahori Gate here on Thursday, killing an elderly woman hours after a bomb blast had killed five policemen and a 12-year-old boy. Another 41 people, including 16 policemen, were injured.

Peshawar SSP (operations) Ijaz Khan said reserved policemen were going in a van to Malik Saad Khan Police lines in the morning when a bomb detonated by remote control struck them on City Circular Road outside the Lahori Gate. The bomb had been planted in a pushcart.

About one and a half hours later the girl blew up a suicide vest that she was wearing, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring 17 people.

An official at the Kotwali police station told Dawn that the old woman appeared to be an accomplice of the bomber. He said some local people had seen them trying at least twice to go to the blast site, but could not succeed because of police cordon and entered the Lahori Gate.

He said the girl avoided talking to police. Had she succeeded in crossing the checkpost she would have killed a number of media personnel and policemen, the official added.

Bomb disposal unit chief Shafaq Malik told reporters that half of the suicide vest the girl was wearing did not explode. The number of casualties could be much higher because there were a large number of people in the area.

He said the body of the bomber was intact, except of the right side of her abdomen which had been damaged. She can be easily identified.

Mr Malik said that eight kilograms of explosives were used in the first blast and over six kilograms in the suicide attack. A number of vehicles were destroyed and windows of nearby houses and shops smashed.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.