Follow @Kalpoint_com

65 FC recruits among 80 killed in suicide attacks

Posted on: Sat May 14, 2011

PESHAWAR : At least 80 people, included 65 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, were killed and more than 100 injured in two suicide strikes on Friday morning at the entrance to the paramilitary training centre in Shabqadar, district Charsadda. Charsadda District Police Officer (DPO) Nisar Marwat confirmed 68 casualties and injuries to dozens others in two attacks.

 Out of the 68 casualties 65 were recruits of Frontier Constabulary (FC), he said while talking to media persons in Shabqadar Fort. The injured and the bodies were taken to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Shabqadar and Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Peshawar. The condition of several injured was stated to be serious. Emergency was declared in the hospitals and doctors on leave were ordered to resume work.

According to police, the first explosion was carried out through a donkey cart and the second suicide bomber was a motorcyclist who rammed his explosive laden bike into the vehicles parked near the gate of the fort. Several shops and vehicles were also damaged in the blasts. It was a powerful blast that rocked the nearby area and a large number of people lost consciousness, said an eyewitness, Rahim, adding that he was shifting two injured of the blast, one of them succumbed to injuries on way to hospital. One of the injured, he said, was his brother.

He said that the recruits were going on leave after completion of their 8 months training. About 75 injured persons were taken to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Peshawar, where emergency was declared and doctors on leave were called on. The hospital was also facing shortage of the stretchers and injured were shifted to casualty ward from vehicles as man pack. The hospital administrator gave a call for donation of blood for the injured.

Talking to media, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Shabqadar, Jehanzeb Khan said that the suicide bombers had targeted the vehicles of Frontier Constabulary. He said that the blasts also damaged shops and several vehicles causing loss of millions of rupees.

The explosions, he said, were followed by heavy firing. He said that security always remained tight near the fort. After the explosions the area was cordoned off by police and security forces and search operation was launched in the nearby areas. Shabqadar is near the tribal area bordering Mohmand Agency where security forces are carrying operation against militants.

It was first major attack after the Abbottabad operation by US to kill al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had vowed revenge of the killing of Osama. The mass funeral prayer of 62 FC personnel was offered in FC training centre Shabqadar and later the bodies were dispatched to their native towns. The funeral prayers of the local civilians were offered at 5:00 pm.

ANP president Asfandyar Wali, KP provincial president Afrasiab Khattak, general secretary Tajuddin Khan, federal minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and provincial minister for information Iftikhar Hussein condemned the suicide attacks on FC Fort Shabqadar, saying that such coward acts would not affect the courage of the brave Pakhtun nation.

Courtesy : Business Recorder