Three US soldiers were killed by Uzbek suicide bomber

PESHAWAR: Investigators probing into the two recent suicide bombings in Dir Lower believe that militants fleeing Bajaur as a result of the military operation are behind the terrorist attacks, a source told The News.

An Uzbek suicide bomber, according to investigators, carried out the latest attack in Shahi Koto area of Dir Lower on February 3 that killed seven persons, including three US soldiers. A non-custom paid vehicle was used in the attack, which was loaded with 50-60 kilograms of explosives.

The Joint Investigation Teams (JITs), comprising officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), two intelligence agencies and the local police, have started grilling hundreds of militants arrested from all over the Malakand Division in recent months.

The detained people would be rated as white, grey and black after the investigation by the JITs. Militants, who had fled Swat and Dir to Bajaur Agency as a result of the military operation in Malakand last year, are returning through unfrequented routes to escape military action in tribal areas. These elements are suspected to have triggered the two explosions in Dir Lower, the source claimed.

The source said that the militants had returned from Bajaur and adjacent areas to Swat and Dir Lower where they were being headed by Hafizullah, originally belonging to Dir Upper.

Three US soldiers were among the seven people killed in a suicide car bombing on a security forces convoy in Shahi Koto village on February 3. The dead included four schoolgirls and a Frontier Corps (FC) soldier. The blast took place near a girls high school, injuring 130 others, including two US soldiers, three journalists and three female teachers. The blast also damaged several nearby buildings, besides causing the collapse of the school building.

Also, 12 people were killed and 28 wounded in another suicide car bombing outside a mosque in Khurshid Khan Police Lines in Balambat town of Dir Lower in mid-December last year. The modus operandi of both the incidents was the same. In both incidents, explosive-laden cars were used by the suicide bombers to hit the security personnel, said Mumtaz Zarin, District Police Officer of Dir Lower. He said they were after the militants who had struck twice and several had been arrested.

 We have nabbed 25 miscreants during the past three days. They are on the run and using their last weapon suicide bombing after finding no way to escape, Mumtaz Zarin added.



Courtesy : The News