A spate of sectarian violence claimed at least 28 lives in different incidents in Lakki Marwat, Quetta and Kurram Agency on Eidul Fitr, turning what was supposed to be a joyous occasion into a period of mourning for many. At least 12 people were killed in separate acts of sectarian violence in various areas of Kurram Agency, with the latest occurring near Bagan, a border town of Kurram Agency, on Friday morning. Officials said unidentified gunmen had ambushed a pick-up truck on its way from Sadda to Bagan, killing all four Sunni men onboard.
On Thursday, armed men had attacked a vehicle on its way from Parachinar, headquarters of Kurram Agency, to the border region of Alizai. Eight people were killed in the shooting. Local tribesmen and officials believe the latest act was a “reaction to Thursday’s incident.” So far, no one has claimed responsibility for either of the attacks.
LAKKI MARWAT: Earlier on Thursday, five people were killed in a suicide car bombing in northwestern Pakistan, police and officials said. The explosion happened after officers signalled a suspect vehicle to stop at a checkpost in the Peezoo town of Lakki Marwat district, local police chief Gul Wali Khan told AFP. The driver ignored the instruction so police opened fire and the bomber detonated his device, he said. About 40 shops and 10 houses were damaged in the blast. “We have recovered five bodies so far from the debris,” he said. “The bomber detonated his car. It was a suicide car bomb attack.” The fatalities were all civilians killed when the buildings collapsed, the police chief said, adding that another 35 people were wounded, 10 of them police officials.
QUETTA: In Quetta, a suicide car bomb killed at least 11 people on Wednesday and wounded 22 others celebrating Eid in a Shia area of the city, police said. The bomb exploded in a car park next to Hazara Eidgah while Eid prayers were taking place, senior police official Mohammad Hashim told AFP. Quetta police chief Ahsan Mehboob said a bomb disposal team had concluded that it was a suicide car bomb, as he raised the official toll from 10. “The death toll is 11 now as one of the wounded men died at the hospital,” Mehboob said. “Remains of a badly mutilated body were found in the car. It appears that he was not wearing the explosives on his body but he had planted those in the car and detonated when he could not go beyond the parking lot,” Mehboob told AFP. “Our security was alert, so he could not go beyond the parking, otherwise he might have caused a lot more casualties,” he said, adding that all the dead had been identified by relatives except the suicide bomber. Quetta police official Hamid Shakil said two women and a seven-year-old boy were among the dead. Several cars parked nearby caught fire from the blast and one house suffered blast damage, witnesses said. Ali Sher Haideri, spokesman for the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, called newspaper offices and claimed responsibility for the attack, saying such attacks would continue against Shias in Balochistan. Meanwhile, security forces foiled a terrorist attack in Sui on Friday by defusing a five-kilogramme bomb.
