10 martyred in female suicide bombing, firing in DI Khan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Ten people, including six policemen and a minor girl, were martyred and over 30 people were injured in separate terror attacks in Dera Ismail Khan as a fresh wave of violence hit the city on Sunday.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

According to the police, four unidentified armed men riding two motorbikes opened fire on two policemen who were on duty on the Dera-Zhob Road at about 8:45am. Both the police jawans identified as Muhammad Jahangir and Inamullah succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital, the sources said.

The attackers escaped from the spot after committing the crime. A suicide bomber, said to be a female, blew herself up inside the District Headquarters Hospital in Dera Ismail Khan when the bodies of the fallen cops were brought there for autopsy.

Initial reports suggested that a burqa-clad woman had carried out the suicide attack. The bomber triggered the explosion when a vehicle of Rescue 1122 entered the Trauma Centre of the hospital, carrying the bodies of the martyred police jawans.

District Police Officer (DPO) Salim Riaz also reached the hospital when he learnt about the attack on the cops. However, he escaped unhurt in the suicide blast.

The sources and eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber was present inside the hospital near the Out-Patient Department (OPD), which was closed as it was Sunday. The cops from the Elite Force of police were present inside the hospital near the OPD when the bomber struck.

Four cops were martyred in the suicide attack. They were identified as Khalilullah and Hidayatullah and two others.

A five-year-old girl Maryam, daughter of one Mushtaq, Zameer Hussain, Muhammad Irfan and Muhammad Din were among the dead. About 30 people, including eight policemen, were injured in the blast.

Most of injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in DI Khan, while a minor boy was taken to a hospital in Peshawar due to his precarious condition.

Some of the injured cops were identified as Kashif, Abid, Fazle Rahim, Naseeb, Anwar Iqbal and Inam, while the wounded civilians included Rehan, Asif, Ayub, Akhtar Ijaz, Alam Sher, Suhail, Sanaullah, Adil, Hamza, Muhammad Kaleem, Zainul Abideen, Muhammad Naeem, Azeem, Usman, Suleman, Muhammad Bashir and Babo Meraj.

Eyewitnesses said the people visiting the hospital to seek medical treatment and police jawans were among the injured. Police and civil administration reached the spot after the explosion.

Several motorcycles and cars parked on the premises of the hospital were also damaged in the blast. The blast panicked the shopkeepers who shut down their shops. According to the Bomb Disposal Unit, eight to 10kg explosives were used in the blast.

Funeral prayers for the fallen cops were offered at the Police Lines in DI Khan city. Commissioner Javed Khan Marwat, Deputy Inspector General of Police Feroz Shah, DPO Saleem Riaz, police and civil and military officials and a large numbers of people attended the funerals.

Later, the bodies of the martyred cops were shifted to native areas for burial. Funeral prayers for two policemen martyred in the DI Khan attack were later offered at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines in Peshawar.

Inspector General of Police Muhammad Naeem Khan, provincial ministers and others attended the funeral of the two policemen whose bodies were airlifted from DI Khan to the provincial capital.

The IGP, while talking to media persons, said evidence had been collected from the site of the attack that would help the police reach the facilitators. He said the police force had rendered great sacrifices for restoration of peace.

President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, KP Governor Shah Farman, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, QWP Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and other leaders condemned the acts of terrorism in DI Khan. In their separate messages, they prayed that Almighty Allah rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.