ISLAMABAD: Two people, including the attacker, were killed and six persons were injured in a suicide attack at a bank located in sector I-8 Markaz of Islamabad on Monday.According to sources, a white car dropped an 18-year-old boy in front of the bank located in the limits of Industrial Area Police Station and drove off. The boy tried to enter the bank but the security guard posted outside the bank stopped him at the entrance. The attacker pushed the guard and tried to enter the bank but on the latter’s continued resistance he blew himself up at the bank’s entrance, consequently killing the guard and himself.The blast injured six people, including the bank’s Manager Operation Zulqarnain Mujahid, Sales Officer Hasib Ahmed, a security guard Maqbool Hussain. Zuilqarnain was shifted to Shifa International Hospital while the other injured were admitted taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.Approximately 9 kilogrammes of explosive was used in the attack. The blast shattered the windowpanes of nearby buildings and damaged a number of cars. A witness, Noshad Ali, told Media that he was in parking area of the bank when a white car drove up and dropped a boy. A few seconds he witnessed the boy arguing with the ank guard, following which he blew himself up.
“The bomber walked into the bank and blew himself up when the security guard tried to search him,” another witness Hammad Ahmad told Reuters. The guard died and three people were wounded, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But the attack bore all the hallmarks of the Taliban. The explosion left blood beside shards of glass and cables ripped from walls and the ceiling. Body parts were scattered across the debris. People outside the bank looked dazed.
Inspector General of Police Wajid Ali Durrani confirmed that it was a suicide attack. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has announced that he will recommend Sitara-e-Shujaat for the bank guard. Assistant Sub Inspector of Industrial Area Police Station, Muhammad Khan, said that the Bomb Disposal Squad and forensic team had collected the samples from the place and injured persons were shifted to hospital under the supervision of Margalla Police. Margalla Police Station Station House Officer, Irshad Ali Abro, said that his team was recording the statements of the injured persons. – Dailytimes
