Pakistan suicide bomb kills tribespeople waiting for aid
At least 40 people have been killed by a suicide bomber wearing a burka who attacked a crowd of people waiting for aid in Pakistan on Christmas morning.
The attack came after a day of fierce fighting between Pakistani Taliban insurgents and security forces on the Afghanistan Pakistan border in the Mohmand region, close to where today’s attack took place in the Bajaur region.
The fighting yesterday led to around 11 soldiers killed and 24 militants.
An official the main government hospital in Bajaur, Dosti Rehman said: “I myself have counted 40 bodies but the death toll could rise as several wounded people are in critical condition.”
A top Pakistan government official, Zakir Hussain, confirmed the death toll and said some 60 tribesmen were also injured. He expected the death toll to rise as some of the wounded are in a critical condition. According to officials some women and children are among the wounded.
Covered head-to-toe in a burka, the suicide bomber’s gender has not yet been established. The bomber detonated explosives as hundreds of people from the Salarzai tribe were walking towards a food distribution centre. The centre had been set up by the World Food Programme when people had been forced from their homes by fighting earlier between the security forces and al-Qaeda linked militants.
A spokesman from the WFP said the attack took place as people were being screened at a security checkpoint near the centre. According to witnesses the attacker first threw hand grenades at the crowd, and then detonated the bomb.
Hussain Ahmed said: “First there were two small explosions and people started running for cover. But within seconds there was a major blast and there were dead bodies scattered everywhere. It was very terrifying.”
Anti-Taliban tribe
The Salarzais are anti-Taliban and has been supporting the army operations against the militants.
The ethnic Pashtun tribal lands on the Afghan border has been infested by militants and the army has tried to get them out of the region in several operations.
The tribe has been instrumental in getting lashkars, or tribal militia to support the government’s operations against the militants.
Azam Tariq, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a retaliation for “Salarazais activities against the Taliban”.
Tribes have been targeted in the past for supporting the government. This attack is important because it proves the militants can fight back, despite hundreds of their fighters being killed by government forces and their strongholds captured.
Yesterday, around 150 Taliban militants carried out simultaneous attacks on five paramilitary checkpoints in the Baizai area of Mohmand tribal agency, killing 11 soldiers and wounding many more.
Some 24 militants were killed by the paramilitary forces, but government officials said the militant death toll rose to 40, because more had been killed by air strikes.
The Taliban have disputed the official death toll.
A Taliban spokesman on Friday confirmed clashes but disputed the official death toll, saying only two of their fighters were killed.