ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 11 people died Sunday when a suicide bomber set off an explosion next to a group of police officers guarding an area near the Red Mosque, where a restive crowd had gathered to commemorate a deadly clash between Islamic militants and government security forces in July 2007, the authorities said.
More than 22 people were wounded, doctors at a nearby hospital said. Most of the dead and wounded appeared to be police officers.
About 30 officers had been standing on a sidewalk near a police station, just a few hundred yards from the Red Mosque in the center of Islamabad, when the explosion occurred. Thousands of people were at the mosque to commemorate an eight-day siege there a year ago that ended when commandos stormed the sprawling complex before dawn on July 10. Security forces and Islamic militants armed with automatic weapons, rocket launchers and grenades battled for an entire day in that confrontation, which left more than 100 people dead.
Within minutes of the suicide bombing on Sunday, which occurred about 7:30 p.m., medics were rushing dozens of wounded people to nearby hospitals and thousands of worshipers were fleeing the area near the mosque.
People running from the scene dodged police barricades, which had been set up as part of the tight security for the commemoration. Some were crying and some were wounded, and they left shoes and trails of blood on the sidewalks. Medics picked up body parts from the pavement.
Zafar Yab Ahmad, who lives nearby, said it appeared that the bomber had intentionally detonated the explosives near the group of police officers, who were part of a large security detail.
“I was standing with my niece,” Mr. Ahmad said. “We were saying, ‘Why are there so many police officers standing down there?’ And I went inside and just as I entered, the bomb went off. I came back out and saw 7 to 10 bodies lying on the ground. Some were in uniform and some were in pieces.”
Security for the event at the Red Mosque had been elaborate. Steel and concrete barricades blocked streets, coils of barbed wire were strung across roads and sidewalks, and for days police officers carrying semiautomatic weapons had formed a rough circle around the area.
The government and many diplomats had clearly been concerned as people flooded into Islamabad for the occasion, with many fearing a possible terrorist attack to mark the anniversary of the siege. There had even been speculation that two hotels that primarily serve foreign guests might be potential targets.
While it was not certain that the suicide bombing had been directly connected to the commemoration of the siege and battle, many people said they thought it was likely.
“Surely, it looks like this is connected with the anniversary of the Red Mosque,” Talat Masood, a retired Pakistan Army general, said in an interview. “They wanted to send a clear message that they haven’t forgotten this event and are going to keep on hitting.
“The government will have to take very seriously this war on terror and give it the urgency it deserves,” Mr. Masood said. “Even if it is because of foreign elements, the fact is that the country has become so weak that the foreign elements are able to enter and take advantage.”
Inside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, less than a block from the explosion, family members screamed and sobbed.
Some tried to perform CPR on victims who were so badly wounded that they appeared to be dead. In some cases, family members tried to revive their relatives even as medics were trying to cover them with blankets.
The number of reported fatalities increased during the night. A doctor at the Pakistan Institute hospital said that 11 or 12 people had died. Dawn, a local newspaper, reported that 19 people had died.
A senior official in the Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, said initially that eight people had died and 22 had been wounded. Mr. Malik, who spoke with reporters at the scene of the explosion, also said that all of those who had died were police officers. However, at least one person who had died was not in uniform.
Muhammad Shezad was among the wounded. He was awaiting surgery at the hospital to remove a piece of shrapnel that had lodged in his armpit. He said he had just stepped into a nearby parking lot on his way to pick up his wife, a doctor at the hospital, when the bomb exploded.
“There were so many people who were lying there and dying, it was such a painful situation,” Mr. Shezad said.
No comments:
Post a Comment