Fourteen people, including two soldiers and two policemen, were killed and 53 others sustained injuries in a suicide attack targeting a security checkpoint near the Circuit House in Saidu Sharif on Saturday.
The suicide blast was the second in 2010 in Swat, a district regained from the Maulana Fazlullah-led militants in a military operation launched in May 2009. The blast occurred at a time when the militants have stepped up their attacks in the country, particularly in Lahore.
Spokesman for the Army-run Swat Media Centre (SMC) Maj Mushtaq said the bomber came in a tri-wheeler to a checkpost near the Circuit House. The bomber, he added, started walking towards the checkpost. The soldiers and police officials manning the barrier challenged the young boy but he did not stop. "As the soldiers opened fire at him, he detonated his explosives," Maj Mushtaq said.
He said the blast killed 14 people, including two soldiers and as many cops. An Edhi Ambulance driver, Khurshid, who evacuated the injured to the nearby Saidu Sharif Hospital, put the death toll at 16. He said four Edhi ambulances and hospital vehicles shifted the injured to the hospital.
General Officer Commanding in Swat Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem confirmed Maj Mushtaq's statement. "The bomber came in a rickshaw from Saidu Sharif side and disembarked near the checkpost. He blew himself up when fired upon," he said.
The checkpost, where the bomber blew himself up, provides access to important places such as the district courts, district coordination officer's office, district police officer's office and the Circuit House.
The blast, in which 14 kilograms of explosives were used, damaged several cars besides smashing windowpanes of the nearby buildings, including a recently-inaugurated library.
Eyewitnesses said the cars caught fire after the blast and thick smoke enveloped the area. Five cars were destroyed in the incident.
"I was working in my cafe when the bomb went off. I found myself wounded and saw human bodies lying around me," said Muhammad Anwar. He said all of his employees had been injured in the blast.
Another eyewitness, who was going to appear in a court for his case, was also injured. "I heard a bang and then fell unconscious," he said.
Security forces cordoned off the area after the blast and imposed curfew for several hours on the Mingora-Saidu Sharif Road. However, no search operation was carried out till the filing of this report.
Those killed on the spot included two cops identified as Hazratullah and Jehanzeb, student of a private public school Safdar, 16-year-old Qari Yusuf, Wahid Gul, Bakht Jamal and Nadir Shah.
The deceased also included three workers of a local NGO identified as Aimal Khan, Akbar Khan and their driver, Umar Zarin.
Two sub-inspectors -- Sher Muhammad Khan and Beldar Khan -- and three policemen also sustained serious injuries in the blast.
NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti condemned the suicide bombing and announced compensation of Rs 300,000 each for those killed and Rs 100,000 for the injured.
Agencies add: The local Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attack.
A spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed his organisation was responsible for the attack, saying that more would follow as long as Army operations continued in Pakistan's tribal belt.
"These people are fighting against us to please America. As long as they do not stop the military operation, we will carry out more such attacks," spokesman Azam Tariq told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar have strongly condemned the suicide attack in Saidu Sharif.
In their separate statements, they expressed their deep shock and grief over the sad incident in which the security personnel and civilians lost their lives.
They said such acts of cowardice would not deter the resolve of the government to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country.
They prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.
The US embassy also condemned the suicide attack.
"We extend our condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and to the people of Mingora," said a statement of the US embassy.
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