Gunmen killed seven security personnel at an army camp in Wazirabad on Monday, officials said, hours after a protest march against the resumption of NATO supply convoys passed through the area.
The encampment was attacked from a bridge over the river Chenab, close to Wazirabad. “At least seven security personnel including a police official embraced martyrdom and five others were injured due to firing by unknown assailants near Wazirabad,” the military said in a statement. A military rescue party had camped by the Chenab to look for the body of a pilot missing in a helicopter crash in May, the statement said, and the camp came under attack from a bridge.
“The exact number of attackers is not known but they came by motorbike and sprayed bullets on the troops from the bridge,” a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “It is highly likely that the attackers belonged to a banned religious outfit, which is a hand in glove with Taliban.”
The official added: “Nobody has so far claimed responsibility of the attack but if we follow the pattern of the attack, it looks similar to assaults that these outfits have been carrying out in different cities.” The anti-NATO convoy of thousands traveling by bus, truck and car with the protest march stopped for the night in the town of Gujrat, across the river Chenab from Wazirabad, and they were expected to reach Islamabad on Monday afternoon.