Suicide blast at funeral leaves 14 dead, 31 injured

Suicide blast at funeral leaves 14 dead, 31 injured
By Riaz Ahmad / Umer Farooq
Published: March 11, 2012

Relatives and volunteers shift a body from a hospital after a suicide attack in Peshawar on March 11, 2012. PHOTO: AFP
A man is comforted by his relative at the Lady Reading hospital as he cries over the death of a family member in a suspected suicide bomb attack in the outskirts of Peshawar March 11, 2012. PHOTO: REUTERS Relatives and volunteers shift a body from a hospital after a suicide attack in Peshawar on March 11, 2012. PHOTO: AFP

PESHAWAR: At least 14 people were killed and 31 others were injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself at a funeral procession in Badhaber, in the outskirts of Peshawar city on Sunday.

A suicide bomber exploded himself in a funeral procession in the central graveyard of Badhaber, bordering Khyber Agency.

Station House Officer (SHO) Abid confirmed the suicide attack and said that the possible target could be Deputy Speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Khushdil Khan who attended the funeral but left minutes before the bomber exploded his suicide vest.

Around 6kg of explosives and ball bearings were used in the attack, the remains of the bomber were also recovered, Abid told The Express Tribune. A vehicle and a motorcycle were also destroyed in the blast, and the officials initially speculated that the bomb might have been planted on the motorcycle.

Eyewitness Zafar who was admitted at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) told The Express Tribune that the timing of the funeral was altered and the funeral took place at least 15 minutes before its time

“After the funeral prayers were offered, we left the ground and then an explosion took place. There were body parts strewn all around,” Zafar said.

Police officials said that the funeral was of a woman who was ‘mistakenly’ killed when a bullet from her son’s pistol was fired yesterday. Sources added that a cousin of the deputy speaker was also killed in the attack.

“The attack is a reaction of the security forces operation in Khyber Agency,” said Deputy Speaker Khan while speaking to the media.

The MS of Lady Reading Hospital Rahim Jan Afirdi told journalists that 31 injured had been brought to the hospital.

“The condition of five people is critical,” he said and confirmed that there were thirteen dead bodies at the hospital.

The attack comes at a time when security forces killed around 39 militants in Bara, Khyber Agency in an operation that lasted for many hours. Four security personnel including an officer were killed in the battle.

The outskirts of Peshawar have more than often been a battleground between the security forces aided by the Lashkar and the militants. Thirty seven people were killed and more than 50 were injured when a suicide bomber targeted a funeral procession in March last year in Adezai.



‘Over 10 killed’ as blast hits funeral prayer near Peshawar

By Nasir Khan - Mar 11th, 2012 (No Comment)
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Peshawar: At least 14 people were killed and several other injured when a suicide blast hit funeral ceremony near Peshawar city of Pakistan;s Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province on Sunday.

Police and rescue teams rushed to the spot and injured and bodies are being shifting to lady reading hospital, police source said.

The sources said that the blast occurred at funeral prayer of local peace committee’s member in Budhber area near Peshawar city.

The area has been cordoned off by the police and security forces , the sources said.

Hospital sources said that five dead bodies and fifteen injured had been shifted to Lady Reading hospital.

Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain has also confirmed the death 10 people.