ID :
160035
Thu, 02/10/2011 - 13:51
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/160035
The shortlink copeid
27 soldiers killed as teenage bomber hits Pakistan army centre
Peshawar (PTI) A teenage suicide bomber in
school uniform penetrated an elite Pakistani army training
centre at Mardan in northwest region Thursday unleashing his
lethal payload in midst of a parade, killing 27 soldiers and
wounding 40 others.
"It was a suicide attack. The teenage bomber came on
foot and was wearing a school uniform," senior police officer
Abdullah Khan said. He said 27 army personnel were killed and
40 others injured, most of them critically.
An army spokesman confirmed the incident but put the
casualty toll at 20.
Police said the condition of some of the injured was
critical and the toll could go up.
The hit on the Punjab Regimental Centre was one of the
worst strikes on the Pakistan army deeply involved for last
two years in operations in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa
province bordering Afghanistan to flush out Taliban militants.
The blast from the explosives apparently carried in a
school bag was so devastating that it blew up soldiers taking
part in the parade, scattering their limbs, eyewitnesses said.
Police said an examination of the body parts at the
scene indicated that the bomber was a boy aged around 15.
It was not immediately clear how the bomber got into
the heavily guarded centre undetected. An attack on the same
facility in 2006 had killed 35 soldiers.
A Taliban spokesman later claimed responsibility for
the attack and vowed to carry out more bigger strikes on all
people who are providing security to the Americans.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq in telephone calls to
media houses said, "we proudly claim this attack. These
strikes are to avenge attacks by drone and military operations
in the tribal areas."
"Until and unless these attacks stop we will
continue," he said.
An army statement said, "in a suicide attack by a boy
in school uniform at Punjab Regimental Centre at Mardan early
this morning, 20 soldiers embraced martyrdom while 20 others
were injured."
Today's attack was the deadliest since a burqa-clad
women with explosives strapped to her body blew herself up at
a UN food distribution center on Christmas day in Bajour,
killing 43 people.
Troops sealed off the area and even policemen had a
difficult time getting through. The local army hospital
declared an emergency as ambulances rushed in casualties.
The forces have taken the charge of rescue operation
in its hand. Civilian rescue agencies and media were not
allowed entry in the heavily protected military facility.
No particular militant group immediately claimed
responsibility for the attack. But the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan has carried out similar attacks earlier.
Mardan is 50 kilometers away from the Mohmand tribal
district where the army recently launched a major attack.
Officials have said more than 25,000 people have fled the area
in the past one week.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the
attack, saying "such cowardly attacks cannot affect the morale
of the security agencies and the resolve of the nation to
eradicate terrorism."
school uniform penetrated an elite Pakistani army training
centre at Mardan in northwest region Thursday unleashing his
lethal payload in midst of a parade, killing 27 soldiers and
wounding 40 others.
"It was a suicide attack. The teenage bomber came on
foot and was wearing a school uniform," senior police officer
Abdullah Khan said. He said 27 army personnel were killed and
40 others injured, most of them critically.
An army spokesman confirmed the incident but put the
casualty toll at 20.
Police said the condition of some of the injured was
critical and the toll could go up.
The hit on the Punjab Regimental Centre was one of the
worst strikes on the Pakistan army deeply involved for last
two years in operations in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa
province bordering Afghanistan to flush out Taliban militants.
The blast from the explosives apparently carried in a
school bag was so devastating that it blew up soldiers taking
part in the parade, scattering their limbs, eyewitnesses said.
Police said an examination of the body parts at the
scene indicated that the bomber was a boy aged around 15.
It was not immediately clear how the bomber got into
the heavily guarded centre undetected. An attack on the same
facility in 2006 had killed 35 soldiers.
A Taliban spokesman later claimed responsibility for
the attack and vowed to carry out more bigger strikes on all
people who are providing security to the Americans.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq in telephone calls to
media houses said, "we proudly claim this attack. These
strikes are to avenge attacks by drone and military operations
in the tribal areas."
"Until and unless these attacks stop we will
continue," he said.
An army statement said, "in a suicide attack by a boy
in school uniform at Punjab Regimental Centre at Mardan early
this morning, 20 soldiers embraced martyrdom while 20 others
were injured."
Today's attack was the deadliest since a burqa-clad
women with explosives strapped to her body blew herself up at
a UN food distribution center on Christmas day in Bajour,
killing 43 people.
Troops sealed off the area and even policemen had a
difficult time getting through. The local army hospital
declared an emergency as ambulances rushed in casualties.
The forces have taken the charge of rescue operation
in its hand. Civilian rescue agencies and media were not
allowed entry in the heavily protected military facility.
No particular militant group immediately claimed
responsibility for the attack. But the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan has carried out similar attacks earlier.
Mardan is 50 kilometers away from the Mohmand tribal
district where the army recently launched a major attack.
Officials have said more than 25,000 people have fled the area
in the past one week.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the
attack, saying "such cowardly attacks cannot affect the morale
of the security agencies and the resolve of the nation to
eradicate terrorism."
