Authorities have found the head of the suspected suicide bomber who blew himself up near outside the official residence of a senior army official in the adjacent city of Rawalpindi, said an official.
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A suicide bomber, in his late 20s, blew himself up near a police checkpoint outside the house of Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC), police sources told KUNA. The sources said that the explosion killed eight persons including three policemen and wounded about 20 others, adding that the explosion also caused partial damage to the outer wall of CJCSC residence.
Interior Ministry Spokesman Javed Cheema confirmed the number of casualties and said that authorities found the head of suspected suicide bomber. Sources said the head was found inside the CJCSC residence. Cheema, talking to newsmen, said that the bomber was of age between 19 and 30, but he was not identified yet.
Senior Police officer of Rawalpindi city, Saud Aziz, said that the bomber, who was on foot, wanted to get past police security cordon but a policeman successfully stopped him at a checkpoint. "He then detonated explosives strapped to his body," he added. Police sources said that the explosive was of 14 to 15 Kg weight.
Security in all major cities of Pakistan including Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar was put on red alert and heavy police deployment was made around cantonment areas. The explosion took place amid deteriorating security situation in northern Sawat district where army claimed killing dozens of militants in a gunbattle with local militants and supporters of Maulana Fazlullah, head of a banned Al-Qaeda linked group.
Intelligence reports two days back said that three suspected suicide bombers, trained at a border tribal region, infiltrated into twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. |