Suicide Attacks in Punjab

February 5

32 persons were killed and 48 others wounded when a suspected suicide bomber blew himself amidst a crowd of Shia worshippers outside a mosque in Dera Ghazi Khan. Police said the blast targeted dozens of people converging on the Al Hussainia Mosque after dark, shortly before a religious gathering. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Police blamed sectarian extremists for the incident. "Ninety-nine percent it looks like a suicide attack… The explosion occurred just 50 feet short of the mosque. It is a terrorist attack aimed at Shias to create unrest," said Shaukat Javed, the Inspector General of Punjab Police.

March 16

15 people were killed and 25 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a busy bus stand at Pirwadhai in Rawalpindi. Sources quoting investigators said the original target of the bomber could have been the participants of the ‘long march’, of the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif which was scheduled to pass through the area. Regional Police Officer Nasir Durrani, however, told the media that it would be premature to decide whether the bomber’s original target was the ‘long march’. "The suicide bomber blew himself up on a motorbike outside a restaurant, which was set up close to the cab stand," said Durrani.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the headquarters of the Special Branch (SB), an intelligence agency of the Federal Capital Police, in Sitara Market, killing himself and a Policeman. Two Police officials were wounded in the attack. Over 120 personnel of the Special Branch reside on the premises of the SB headquarters and most of them were present in their barracks, said an SB official. Police Constable Faisal Khan, deployed at the main gate of the headquarters, reportedly got hold of the suicide bomber when he was advancing towards the barracks. The bomber detonated the bomb, killing both of them. "The bomber wanted to hit the residential rooms of the SB personnel," an unnamed officer said.

Eight Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were killed, and seven others injured, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at an FC check post on the Margala Road in national capital Islamabad. The blast, which took place at 7:35pm, was followed by an exchange of fire between FC personnel and unidentified accomplices of the suicide attacker. The crossfire continued for around 20 minutes, an eyewitness told. However, Police denied any exchange of fire, saying security officials had been firing in the air to scare away other attackers.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of an Imambargah (Shia place of worship) at Chakwal in Punjab province, killing 24 people, including three children, and injuring 140 others, at a religious gathering. The target was the gathering of about 800 people, who were attending a Majlis-e-Aza (a gathering to mourn Imam Hussain) at an Imambargah in Muhallah Sarpak. The Majlis ended at 12:15 pm and the people were preparing to leave the Imambargah when a 15-year old boy, who looked to be an Afghan, stormed into the crowd and blew himself up after private security guards tried to stop him. The Inspector General of Police Shaukat Javed confirmed that the suicide attacker was a single person and said the incident was the continuity of the recent wave of terrorist attacks. He also said the suicide bomber appeared to be a 15-year-old boy whose legs and head, with damage to the face, had been found at the blast site.

Suicide bombers detonated a vehicle loaded with 100 kilograms of explosives near offices of the capital city police officer (CCPO) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Lahore- killing at least 27 persons and injuring 326 others, in addition to destroying a two-storey building of the Rescue 15 police service, according to Police. An ISI colonel and 15 Police officials were among those killed. Witnesses said the attack started midmorning when two gunmen stepped out of a white van - which had pulled up in a narrow street separating the police and ISI buildings - cautioned civilians to take cover, and started firing at SF personnel deployed down the street. The gunmen also hurled a grenade at the SFs personnel. As the firing continued, the driver managed to cross the concrete barrier, but could not get further and was forced to blow up the vehicle there. Superintendent of Police Sohail Sukhera said a threefold security cordon prevented the attackers from getting to the offices CCPO and ISI offices. He said the terrorist in the vehicle was shot - which prompted him to blow up the vehicle about a hundred feet away from the intended target, in front of the Rescue 15 building.

Two Policemen were killed and four others injured in a suicide attack on a Rescue 15 office at Sector G-8 in capital Islamabad. "It was a huge blast that jolted the area and shattered everything into pieces in front of my eyes," an eyewitness said. Islamabad police arrested some people in connection with the attack, police spokesman Muhammad Naeem said. "We have found a hand and two legs of the bomber. We have not been able to find his head so far," said senior Police officer Bin Yameen told.

Seven persons, including a prominent anti-Taliban cleric, were killed and seven injured when a suicide attacker detonated himself at the Jamia Naeemia madrassa (seminary) in the Garhi Shahu area shortly after Friday prayers. Targeting Sarfaraz Naeemi, the head of Jamia Naeemia, the terrorist reportedly waited until the anti-Taliban cleric had reached his office before launching his attack. Six people were with Naeemi in his office at the time. A seminary student, Muhammad Faisal, said the bomber had pretended to be a student. District Officer (Civil Defence) Mazhar Hussain said the attacker had used a 20-kilogramme suicide vest containing ball bearings and iron filings. Police said the bomber was aged between 16 and 17, clean-shaven and had a fair complexion.

36 persons were injured when a young suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle into a bus carrying employees of the Army-run Heavy Mechanical Complex at the Peshawar Road near Chur Chowk in Rawalpindi. The suicide bomber was the only reported fatality. Initially, the death toll had been given as six but it was revised to one killed (the bomber himself) by the security agencies. The Additional Inspector General of Police, 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 damaged.

A suicide bomber targeted the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) office in Islamabad, killing five persons, including a UN diplomat and two women employees. Six other staff members were injured. The terrorist is reported to have entered the WFP building in Frontier Corps uniform through the small gate. He walked to the reception and blew himself up at 1217 hours, an investigation agency source said. The WFP office is located in a tightly-guarded residential area of the national capital. The dead included a UN diplomat and Iraqi national Bootan Ali, in charge reception Gul Rukh, assistant in charge reception Farzana Barkat, Abdul Wahab and Abid Rehman.

October 20

Two suicide bombers targeted the new campus of the International Islamic University Islamabad in the H-10 sector of Islamabad, killing at least six students and staff members, including two female students, and injuring more than 29 others. Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad, Amer Ali Ahmad, said that the deceased were identified as Sidra Khalid (student), Hina (student), Pervaiz Masih (sanitary worker), Shaukat Bhatti (security guard), Amna (worker) and Khalil-ur-Rehman (student). This is the first terrorist attack on an educational institution in Islamabad.

October 23

Eight persons were killed and 17 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber exploded himself at a Police check-post on the GT Road near the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) in Kamra in the Attock District. According to District administration sources, a suicide bomber blew himself when Security Force (SF) personnel intercepted him at the check-post near the PAC, some 60 kilometres from the national capital Islamabad. District Police chief Fakhar Sultan said the attack killed six civilians and two Pakistan Air Force personnel. The Air Force said 15 security staff were wounded and confirmed two of its personnel were dead. "We have found a mutilated face, as well as other body parts, including legs and arms of the bomber," said Sultan.

October 24

A Motorway Police official was killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car near Lillah Interchange close to Kalar Kahar. Sources said that officials at the interchange asked a car to stop for security checking, but the driver blew up the vehicle, resulting in the death of a patrolling officer, Shah Iran.

At least 35 persons, including two women and children, were killed and 63 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a branch of the National Bank of Pakistan in Rawalpindi. The majority of the blasts victims were reportedly military personnel and employees of the Defence Ministry who had queued up at the NBP Shalimar Plaza Branch to draw their salaries. It was the second terrorist attack in the Red Zone area of the garrison city within a month. According to eyewitnesses, many of the victims were retired military personnel who had gathered at the bank to draw their pensions. Several surrounding offices, part of a nearby hotel and a number of vehicles were also destroyed.

Police foiled a terrorist attack targeting a police check-post at the Babu Sabu Interchange of the Lahore-Islamabad motorway, an entry point into Lahore. According to eyewitnesses, the attacker was travelling in a car with an alleged accomplice. Upon being stopped by Police for a routine inspection, the man got out of the car's passenger seat and detonated his suicide jacket, injuring 25 persons, including the car's driver. Civil Defence District Officer Mazhar Hussain told that eight to 10 kilograms of explosive material had been used in the attack. Mazhar said the terrorist's head was found some 30 yards from the blast site. He said the attacker's face was scarred but recognisable, adding the attacker seemed to be 18. Police officials said the car was packed with huge quantities of explosives and "could have caused a catastrophe" had it entered the city.

December 7

Two bomb blasts killed at least 45 people, and injured more than 100 at the crowded Moon Market in Allama Iqbal area of Lahore in Punjab. The two bombs exploded 30 seconds apart at 8:45 PM (PST). The first blast occurred outside a plaza housing a branch of the Muslim Commercial Bank, while the other outside the Allama Iqbal Town Police Station, situated across the road. A suicide bomber had also targeted Moon Market in August 2008 in which nine people were killed. As the first bomb went off, the plaza where the bank is situated, and an adjacent building went up in flames, halting rescue work, Nazeer Ahmed, a security guard who was at the spot when the blasts occurred, said. Nazeer said the fire made it impossible to rescue anyone from the burning buildings. The Punjab Law Minister, Police officials and officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad, rescue officials and witnesses could not say if the blasts were suicide attacks or remote-controlled detonations. Punjab Inspector General Tariq Saleem Dogar said the bombs might have been detonated by remote control, while Superintendent of Police Ali Nasir Rizvi said he was not certain if a suicide bomber was involved. "We have recovered 33 dead bodies so far," said Dr Rizwan Naseer, Director General of Rescue and put the toll for the injured at 95. However, Dawn reports 45 causalities in the twin blast.

December 8

A group of three Taliban militants launched a gun, rocket and suicide attack on the office of ISI, killing at least 12 people and injuring several others at Multan in Punjab. The blast in Multan destroyed the facades off several buildings in a part of the city largely reserved for Government and Security Agencies. The apparent target of the blast was a building housing an office of the ISI which was also damaged. Senior Police Officer Agha Yusuf said at least three Taliban militants in a car carried out the attack. He said one of them first fired a rocket and an automatic weapon at a police checkpoint, and then drove to the intelligence agency – where they blew it up. He said Security personnel were also among the 12 killed. "It was a suicide attack. There were two attackers who were stopped at the checkpost, but they tried to flee and Security personnel fired at them," another Police Official, Arif Ikram told reporters. "The attackers returned fire and also launched two rockets, and later exploded their vehicle." Multan’s top administrative official, Syed Mohammad Ali Gardezi, said that one military building was badly damaged in the blast. "They did not succeed in hitting the target," he claimed.

December 15

A suicide car bomb exploded in a market outside the home of the Punjab Chief Minister’s senior adviser, Zulfiqar Khosa in Dera Ghazi Khan District of Punjab, killing 33 people and injured 60 others. Unidentified militants detonated the explosives outside the house of Khosa, who was not in home at the time of explosion. An eyewitness, Naeem, said a white-coloured car reached the gate of Khosa’s house and exploded. Most of the dead and injured were persons shopping or working at the market. It was unclear whether the bomber meant to target the politician’s home or the market. The attack badly damaged the house and several nearby shops and buildings, including a mosque and bank. "The whole market has collapsed," said Raza Khan, a local resident. "There is smoke and people running here and there." The attacker had packed the car with about 900 pounds (400 kilogrammes) of explosives, Senior Police Officer Muhammad Rizwan said. Zulfiqar Khosa’s son, Dost Muhammad Khosa, said two of his cousins were among the wounded. "It was a direct attack on us," Dost alleged, declining to speculate who was behind the blast. Meanwhile, Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa said that his residence was targeted in the suicide attack but he is not sure whether he was the target of the bomber or not. "All of my family members are safe and are in Lahore," he told a private television channel after a suicide bomber exploded an explosives-laden car outside his residence. Khosa condemned the explosion.

December 24

A six-year-old girl, Arooj, was killed and two people, including a head constable, were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside an imambargah on Kurri Road in Rawalpindi. The bomber blew himself up when Head Constable Ittefaq intercepted him at a picket set up for the Security of the imambargah, where a congregation was being held.