Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:36AM GMT
At least 21 people, mainly Shia Muslims, were killed and many others were wounded after a powerful bomb explosion in a market in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region close to the Afghan border, Press TV reports.
Pakistani security official told Press TV on condition of anonymity that the bomb exploded in the main market of Parachinar town, located about 290 kilometers (180 miles) west of the capital Islamabad, near a mosque where the Friday Prayers were taking place.
Parachinar is the main town in Kurram tribal region, which is considered a main base for the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Scores of high-profile militants are believed to be taking refuge there in recent years after fleeing military offensives in the nearby tribal regions.
Pakistan's pro-Taliban militants have launched a violent campaign against Shia Muslims over the past years.
Shia Muslims living in Kurram have been facing a humanitarian crisis since November 2007, when pro-Taliban groups cut off the area from the rest of the country.
According to local sources, hundreds of Shia Muslims have been killed in the region since the start of the campaign by militants affiliated to Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorist groups.
Several Shia religious gatherings have been targeted in different parts of the country over the past few months.
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26 killed, 36 injured in Parachinar blast
By Web Desk / AFP / Reuters
Published: February 17, 2012
Fazal Saeed, leader of breakaway faction of TTP claims responsibility for attack, says attack targeted Shia community. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
PESHAWAR: A blast in the Parachinar area of Kurram Agency on Friday killed 26 people and injured 36. The death toll was confirmed by a list posted at the hospital where the bodies and injured were shifted after the blast.
Earlier reports had said that the blast was a suicide attack, but officials from the area said that the nature of the blast was not clear as yet.
Local officials said that the blast site was where a budget market is set up every Friday.
“A bomb exploded in the main bazaar of Parachinar. We are collecting details,” local government official Shahab Ali Shah told AFP.
“It was a suicide attack,” a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Fazal Saeed, leader of a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.
“We have targeted the Shia community of Parachinar because they were involved in activities against us,” he told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.
“We also warn the political administration of Parachinar to stop siding with the Shia community in all our disputes.”
Other officials could not confirm whether a suicide bomber was responsible.
“We don’t have exact details about the nature of the blast,” said the top administration official for the region, Mohammad Anees.
Seven shops were also destroyed as a result of the blast.
The injured were shifted to the Agency Headquarters hospital.
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Parachinar bomb blast: Tribes to file FIR against Taliban faction leader
By Our Correspondent
Published: February 19, 2012
Residents walk past the blast site in Parachinar. PHOTO: FILE
KURRAM AGENCY:
Tribesmen of the Turi and Bangash tribes said that they will register a First Information Report against Fazl-e-Saeed Haqqani, leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami, who claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in Parachinar on Friday.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, tribal elders of the Kurram Agency said the security situation had been under control from 2007 till the end of 2011 – when the area was being controlled by volunteers – but the state of affairs turned violent just after security forces took control.
They said that when the responsibility of ensuring safety in the region was handed over to security forces, the political administration reassured that the situation will remain in control, but the bomb blast proves lack of efficiency and flawed arrangements of the forces. They urged the government to take action against security personnel, accusing them of targeting mourners in the aftermath of the blast.
They also said that Fazl-e-Saeed, who claimed responsibility for the attack, was in violation of the peace accord he signed to maintain peace in the area, pamphlets of which were distributed with his signature. The tribesmen asserted the need to take action against him because, if the situation worsened further, the responsibility will fall on the security forces as well as the political administration.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2012.
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