A teenaged suicide bomber struck a bus terminal in Lower Dir on Monday, killing eight people, police said. The bomb, apparently targeting an anti-Taliban militia leader, exploded in the small town of Jandol in the district of Lower Dir. Dir district police chief Saleem Marwat said seven civilians were killed and 18 wounded at the bus terminal, close to a car showroom, which was also damaged in the blast.
"We have found the head of the bomber. He appears to be a teenager, a 15 to 16-year-old boy," Marwat said. At the car showroom, three people were among the dead and several vehicles were damaged, he added. Doctor Wakil Khan, head of Lower Dir's main hospital, told AFP that 15 people had been wounded in the attack and most of them were in a critical condition.
The target of the suicide attack was Malik Mohammad Akbar, head of a lashkar, set up by the government to fight Taliban militants, residents said. Police said he died in the blast. Akbar, 55, who had survived previous two attempts on his life, was in the car show room run by his family members when the bomber hit. "Malik Akbar died in the blast," Qazi Jamil ur-Rehman, the regional deputy inspector general of police confirmed. "Apparently he was the target," he added. "It was a suicide attack. The bomber was on foot."
Comments
Comments are closed.