Blast in northern Nigeria kills 10: police

KANO: An explosion in the red light district of northern Nigeria´s Bauchi city has killed 10 people and injured 14 others, police said Saturday. The cause of the late Friday blast was not immediately clear, but Boko Haram has attacked Bauchi repeatedly during their five-year uprising aimed at creating a strict Islamic state in the north. Bauchi state police spokesman Mohammed Haruna said the targeted building in the Bayan Gari neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city was widely known as a brothel.

"Ten people were confirmed dead, while 14 others sustained various degrees of injury," Haruna said, adding that the explosion went off at roughly 10:00 pm (2100 GMT). "The entire area has been cordoned off and (the) scene secured," Haruna said. Bomb attacks on targets which Boko Haram has branded sinful - including bars, churches and schools teaching a Western curriculum - have formed a major part of the insurgency.

Nigeria has estimated that more than 10,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2009. The violence has escalated in recent months, with more than 2,000 deaths recorded since the start of the year. The capital Abuja has been hit with three separate bomb attacks since mid-April, most recently on Wednesday when 24 people were killed in a blast at a popular shopping plaza in the heart of the city. Police had initially given a death toll of 21 for the attack, but the health ministry revised those figures upwards on Saturday. In Kano, the largest city in the mainly Muslim north, a bomb planted in the parking lot of a public health college killed eight people on Monday. The Islamist extremists have received unprecedented international attention in recent weeks following their April 14 abduction of more than 200 teenage girls from the town of Chibok in the northeast. The gruesome mass abduction has drawn condemnation from governments and prominent people worldwide and offers of military help from major world powers to boost Nigeria´s counter-insurgency effort.

Blast leaves scores injured in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Over 40 people including women and children sustained injuries in an explosion in the outskirts of Islamabad here on Friday, Geo News reported.

Sources said the blast took place in Pandorian during the Urs of Pir Chun Badshah.

According to initial reports, six people were in critical condition.

Nine killed in Ukraine mine blast

KIEV: Nine miners were killed after a gas explosion ripped through an underground coal mine in eastern Ukraine, authorities said on Friday.

The blast happened before dawn on Thursday at a depth of 300 metres (1,000 feet), located in the eastern city of Kirovsk, the State Emergency Service said in a statement.

Accidents are a regular feature at Ukrainian mines, most of which are located in the country´s industrial eastern region, where pro-Russian rebels now control over a dozen towns and cities.

Many of them are underfunded and poorly equipped, and safety violations are rife.

In the worst accident of its kind in the country´s post-Soviet history, more than 100 miners were killed in an explosion in 2007 at the Zasyadko mine, one of the three biggest in Ukraine.

Blast kills four Afghan policemen: officials

GHAZNI: An explosion killed four Afghan police including a district chief on Thursday as they attempted to defuse a roadside bomb in the restive south, officials said.

Afghanistan has seen a flare-up in violence ahead of the second-round presidential election on June 14, with Taliban insurgents threatening to disrupt the polls.

Thursday´s blast occurred as Mohammad Qasim and his team attempted to defuse one of two roadside bombs found in Waghiz district of Ghazni province.

"They defused the first bomb and while they were trying to defuse the second one nearby, it detonated and killed them," provincial spokesman Shafiq Nang told AFP.

One policeman was wounded in the attack and taken to a nearby hospital, deputy police chief of Ghazni, Assadullah Safi, said while confirming the incident.

The incident comes after 16 policemen were killed in a series of attacks in the space of 24 hours last month, as security forces gear up to guard the election.

Providing security for the vote is a key test for Afghan police and soldiers, with the bulk of 51,000 NATO combat troops due to pull out of the country by December after more than a decade fighting the Taliban.

No one has claimed responsibility for Thursday´s attack, but roadside bombs are the Taliban´s weapon of choice in their war against the foreign and Afghan forces. (AFP)

Five injured in Karachi blast

KARACHI: At least five people sustained injuries in a blast outside a mosque near Katti Pahari area of Karachi, Geo News reported Thursday.

According to rescue sources, the blast occurred outside Mustafa mosque. The injured have been rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.

According to initial reports, SSP Sajid Mir said, the blast was carried out with planted device.

Six security personnel killed in Mohmand Agency IED blast

MOHMAND AGENCY: Six security personnel lost their lives when a roadside bomb targeted their vehicle in Mohmand Agency area on Saturday morning, Geo News reported.

Sources close to security forces told that the explosion occurred when a convoy of security men was passing through Tehsil Pindiali today morning and hit an improvised explosive device (IED) along the road.

As a result of the roadside bomb blast, four security men were killed while two others were injured who were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment where they could not survive and succumbed to their wounds.

Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area after the incident and initiated a search operation.

Seven injured in North Nazimabad blast

KARACHI: A blast occurred near Rangers’ Headquarters in North Nazimabad on Wednesday morning that injured seven persons including a child, Geo News reported.

According to police, the explosion took place early morning today in Karachi Central area in block B of North Nazimabad early where Rangers Headquarter is also located.

Rescue teams shifted the injured to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for first aid. The injured also included a child.

Additional contingent of police and Rangers were called in after the incident. Several motorcycles and nearby buildings were also damaged due to the impact.

Initial investigation suggested that miscreants had planted explosives in a motorcycle that went off with a blast. Further details are yet to be ascertained about the explosion.

3 policemen killed in western Afghanistan bomb blast

KABUL: An Afghan official says a roadside bombing has killed three policemen and wounded two in the country´s western Herat province.

District police chief Shir Agha Alokozay says the attack took place in the province´s Obe district on Tuesday morning, when the police vehicle the officers were riding in hit the roadside bomb.

Alokozay says the bomb was set off by a remote control device and that the police have caught a suspect with the remote control.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Afghan security forces are frequently targeted by insurgents and violence has intensified in the country as most international troops prepare to withdraw at the end of the year.

Blast reported in Karachi

KARACHI: A blast has been reported in Qasba colony of Karachi, Geo News reported.

SSP Irfan Baloch has confirmed the initial reports and said the explosion occurred in the cylinder shop.

Three soldiers killed in IED blast

MIRANSHAH: Three Pakistan army soldiers, including an officer, were killed and three others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on their vehicle in the area between the South Waziristan and North Waziristan tribal regions on Sunday evening.
Military officials said a military double-cabin pickup truck carrying the soldiers to a post was hit by an IED in the mountainous area between the two tribal regions.The vehicle was damaged in the blast and three soldiers, including an officer, were killed on the spot while three others suffered critical injuries.The injured soldiers were later in the night shifted to the military hospital in a medical ambulance helicopter of the Pakistan Army.

Police nab 40 suspects after Delhi colony blast

KARACHI: Police rounded up more than 40 suspects after bomb blast that killed six people in Delhi colony, Geo News reported.

Police team led by SP Saddar Salman Hussain and Frere ASP Shahla Qureshi conducted targeted operation in the area and detained more than 40 suspects.

SP Salman said there were reports of presence of the accused involved in the Friday’s blast. The suspects have been shifted to Frere police station for interrogation.

Six killed, 30 hurt in Karachi blast

KARACHI: A huge bomb explosion took place on the Chaudhry Khalique-uz-Zaman Road in Gizri on Friday afternoon, leaving six people, including a woman, dead and 30 others injured.

Police said the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device and suspected the involvement of a banned outfit, the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ).

Inspector General of Police, Sindh, Iqbal Mehmood, told The News that the bomb blast took place in a rickshaw and the intended target seemed to be a bus of worshippers coming from an Imambargah.

He added that he had formed a committee whose members were Deputy Inspectors General of South Range, Crime Investigation Agency, Crime Investigation Department, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Umer Khattab and SSP Niaz Ahmed Khosa and ordered them to nab the terrorists at the earliest.

However, other police officers were not so sure that the bus was the actual target.Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), District South, Nasir Aftab, said the deceased were passers-by. No government or semi-government office, Masjid or Imambargah were located at the spot where the explosion took place, so it was premature to say what the actual target of the terrorists was.

He said that six people — Sajjid, Shahzad, Abdul Jabbar, Abdullah, Farah and her son Yahya — succumbed to their injuries during treatment while 30 others including Ghulam Shabbir, Dilawar, Abdul Jabar, Shakeel, Faisal, Jahanzeb, Saif Ul Hasan, Zubair, Iqbal, Nadeem, Saleem, Abdullah and Abdur Rehman were injured.

Farah, along with her son, was traveling in a rickshaw when they became a victim of the blast. The deceased had recently shifted to the Dehli Colony from Gulshan-e-Hadeed.

The SSP said the police cordoned off the crime scene and moved the injured to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC).

He said that they had collected evidence, adding the worshippers were returning from the Yasrab Masjid after offering the Friday prayers when suddenly a huge explosion took place near a car showroom.

In the explosion, about 10 vehicles, including three government vehicles, two rickshaws, five motorcycles and windowpanes of nearby buildings were damaged. Some under-construction buildings were also damaged.

The BDS in its report stated that the bomb was an IED, which was planted inside a rickshaw parked on the main road. The bomb contained about 10-13 kilogrammes of explosives with nuts and bolts. SSP Nasir said that they had initially collected 100 nuts and bolts from the scene of the crime and sent them to the forensic division of the Sindh Police.

Regarding the three government vehicles damaged in the explosion, SSP Aftab said that the vehicles were driven by drivers and they belonged to culture and other government departments and no threat to them was found. However, they were investigating it from different angles.

SP Raja Umer Khattab, talking to The News, said that Shia worshippers who worked at an insurance company had visited a Masjid to offer prayers. He added that at the time of the explosion, the bus was passing through the road. Two passengers of the bus were injured in the explosion.

He suspected that the terrorists might have had attempted to target the bus with a remote control but luckily the passengers remained unhurt. SP Khattab said that the banned LJ might be involved in the Gizri explosion.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan have taken a serious notice of the bomb blast that occurred on Friday in the city.

They directed the Inspector General of Police and Rangers to probe these incidents and identify the criminal group and take drastic action against them.

Online adds: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain, has strongly condemned the blast near a mosque in Delhi Colony.

In a statement issued on Friday, he said those killing innocent people on the occasion of Jumma prayer were the enemies of Islam and humanity and wanted to destabilise Pakistan through terrorism and bloodshed.

He said that the government was holding talks with terrorists instead of taking action against them, a joke with the nation.

The MQM chief said that the nation cannot get rid of militancy and terrorism until stern action is taken against these terrorists.

Three killed, several injured in Charsadda blast

CHARSADDA: At least three people were killed and 41 others including 14 policemen injured in a blast in tehsil market of Charsadda on Tuesday morning.

Police sources told that the bomb attack targeted a police van in tehsil market.

Rescue teams arrived at the site of the blast and initiated their work. Four injured are said to be in critical condition, hospital sources told.

At the time of the blast, thirteen persons were present in the police van.

 

Blast leaves 12 injured in Lahore

LAHORE: At least 12 people were injured in a blast at a shop located at Pakistan Chowk in Ichra area of the city, Geo News reported Friday.

The shop owner said he had been receiving threat calls for the last some days. He said he had informed the police about the phone calls in which he was asked to Rs2 million extortion.

He said that the extortionists had also fired shots at his residence last month.

The rescue sources said injured were taken to the Services Hospital for treatment.

Police rushed to the area following the explosion. The Bomb Disposal Squad said that 250 to 300 gram explosive material was used in the blast.

30 held as blast kills 24 in Islamabad Fruit Market

ISLAMABAD: Police have arrested as many as 30 suspects during a search operation following blast at the Fruit Mandi which killed at least 24 people and injured many others on Wednesday.

According to reports, four investigations team have been sent to Multan, Kabirwala, Burewala and Arifwala while police have also arrested five suspects from Kabirwala, Pakpatan and Arif Wala.

During the search operation, which was carried out in I-11, I-10 and slum areas, Afghan nationals were also arrested.


The United Baloch Army (UBA), an obscure militant group, has claimed responsibility for the attack and termed it a revenge for the security forces’ operation against militants in parts of Balochistan. However, the interior ministry has rejected the claim of the UBA.

Banned UBA claim Islamabad bomb blast

QUETTA: The outlawed United Baloch Army (UBA) owns responsibility of the bomb blast in Islamabad market, said its spokesman hours after the incident on Wednesday.

However, the Interior Ministry rejected the UBA’s claim, calling it utterly ‘ridiculous’.

The UBA spokesman said the blast was reaction of security force’s actions in Balochistan.

TTP condemns blast, terms it ‘un-Islamic’

 

PESHAWAR: The spokesman of the proscribed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Shahidullah Shahid, while condemning the bomb blast at the fruit and vegetable market, Islamabad, claimed on Wednesday that the TTP was still adhering to the ceasefire announcement and termed the killing of innocent people unethical, un-Islamic and prohibited.
He said that the TTP condemned the bomb blast that killed 24 people as well as the attack on a train in Sibi on Tuesday.In a statement, Shahidullah Shahid said that attacking innocent civilians was illegal and prohibited adding that the Taliban condemned the blasts that targeted public places. “Hidden elements shouldn’t be ignored in such acts,” he added.

Shahidullah Shahid said that the oppressed people of Balochistan and Sindh were their brothers but targeting innocent people was a crime.He said that foreign hands should not be ignored in such attacks because they wanted to punish the people for their love of Islam. He said after failing to suppress a militant organisation, these forces launched attacks to defame the organisation. He said in the past as well, these hidden hands carried out blasts in Lahore, Peshawar and other cities to bring a bad name to the TTP.

Shahidullah Shahid said that the ceasefire announced by the TTP had been recognised by the media and asked the people to realise who was behind such heinous crimes.

 

24 die in Islamabad Sabzi Mandi blast

 

ISLAMABAD: Twenty-four people were killed and 116 wounded in a powerful explosion in the fruit and vegetable market (Sabzi Mandi) here on Wednesday morning. The death toll is likely to increase, as 17 of the injured are in a critical condition.
The explosive device weighing five kilogrammes was planted in a guava crate and was blown up by remote control leaving a 5ft x 3ft crater.The police authorities ruled out a suicide bombing, saying that a manual operating mechanism was used in the explosion. The intelligence agencies, analysing the method of the explosion, indicated a foreign hand behind this act of terrorism.

The blast was so powerful that its sound was heard in a radius of 10-12 kilometres from the epicentre. The witnesses said that the explosive was planted in a guava crate, which went off with a big bang during an auction, leaving scores of persons dead and injured.

Meanwhile, the outlawed United Baloch Army (UBA) claimed responsibility for the blast. If that is so, it was the UBA’s second major attack within 24 hours as a day earlier the separatist militants had bombed the Jaffar Express at Sibi Railway Station, killing 17 passengers and injuring dozens more.

Experts say that these bombings might be a reaction to the killing of at least 30 separatist militants in the Khuzdar and Kalat districts of Balochistan.However, the Ministry of Interior termed the claim of the United Baloch Army (UBA) as ludicrous and ridiculous. In a statement, the ministry said that it was beyond any credible evidence that the Baloch separatist outfit had carried out the blast in Islamabad.

Earlier last month, 11 people, including an additional sessions judge, a woman lawyer, a cop and three other senior lawyers, were killed and over 30 wounded in a gun-grenade-suicide at the district courts premises in F-8 Markaz.

Meanwhile, fruitsellers and vendors in Islamabad have complained of a lack of security despite the potential threat from terrorists.People who witnessed the explosion said that the auction of fruits was going on as usual when suddenly a carton of guavas exploded at about 8:00am. At the time, over 1,500 fruit merchants were participating in the auction.

The volunteers, as well as the police personnel deployed on security duty at the Sabzi Mandi, reached the spot and started shifting the bodies and injured to different hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.shifting the bodies and injured to different hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

“The bodies and injured were scattered around the epicentre where many of the people had killed on the spot,” witnesses said and added, the body parts of different victims were laying scattered up to the range of 100 feet.

Meanwhile, AIG (Operations) reached the scene along with heavy contingents of police including Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) ATS and ARF and cleared the area. The Bomb Disposal Squad searched entire Sabzi Mandi with explosive detecting devices before clearing the area.

AIG (Operations) Sultan Azam Temuri told ‘The News’ that a high-level investigation team headed by SP (Industrial Area Zone) Liaquat Niazi had been constituted to investigate and make headway to the terrorist outfit. Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), (Investigation), CIA, CID and SHOs of Industrial Area and Sabzi Mandi police stations would be part of the investigation team, while, SP (Investigations) Jamil Hashmi would separately investigate the matter, Temuri maintained.

The AIG (Operations) disclosed that ten fruit merchants brought fruits from different areas of the country, adding that those cartons of guava were transported from Pakpattan, Vehari, Kasur, Burewala, Arifwala and Sharqpur by trucks. Two teams of CIA and CID had been sent to those cities from where the trucks were loaded.

Temuri ruled out the possibility of suicide bombing and said that suicide attack didn’t leave crater while the planted explosive made deep ditch and all the victims received injuries on lower parts of their bodies which negated the aspect of suicide bombing. “All the fruit merchants who brought the fruit, have been detailed to gather information about the people who sent the fruit and the trucks on which the cartons of fruit were transported,” the AIG (Operations) said, adding, “We will definitely make headway to the terrorist outfit embroiled in the blast and get them soon.”

He said that a team of police personnel led by a sub-inspector, was present in the Sabzi Mandi at the time of occurrence and they reached the scene soon after the blast and rescued the victims.

Talking to the media persons on the crime scene, DIG (Headquarters), Khalid Khattak, declared that checking of every individual and vehicle was humanly impossible, adding that the police got no prior information from the intelligence agencies about the terrorist attack.

The majority of the people killed in the terrorist attack, were poor fruit vendors who used to come the market to participate in the fruit auction.Dr Waseem Khawaja, Director of PIMS hospital, told ‘The News’ when contacted that 18 people were brought dead at the PIMS while one expired in ICU during medical aid. As many as 56 people, sustained injuries on different parts of their bodies, were under treatment, Dr Khawaja said, adding that a number of victims were in critical condition. “Death toll can rise as at least 17 victims are in critical condition,” Dr Waseem Khawaja said.

The dead were identified as Alamgir son of Sher Afzal, Bakht Muhammad son of Azam, Miraj Khan son of Malook Sain Khan, Azam Khan son of Rustam Khan, Waris Ali son of Turaab, Talha son of Sher Baz, Muhammad Umar Baz Khan son of Mir Zaman, Muhammad Karim son of Lal Khan, Khizar Hayat son of Ghulam Rabbani, Muhammad Rafique son of Muhammad Jan, Sajjad son of Arshad, Muhammad Ishtiaq son of Sardar, Shabbir son of Ghulam Rasool, Shahzad son of Arshad Khan and Zair Khan son of Musafer Khan, Dr Waseem Khawaja said. He said that remaining could not be identified. He said that a person expired in emergency and the other expired in surgical ICU.

The Sabzi Mandi police have registered an FIR against unknown terrorists and started investigation.Meanwhile, the security in Rawalpindi, has been tightened after the Sabzi Mandi episode, the Rawalpindi police spokesman said adding that extra force had been deployed at sensitive installations and cantonments areas. The spokesman said that a comprehensive search operation had been launched in sensitive areas of Rawalpindi.

Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that foolproof security would be provided to business community.Talking to media persons after visiting the blast site in Fruit and Vegetable Market, he said that culprits would be taken to task.

“The government would take elaborate measures and steps to make business areas more secure and safe,” the minister averred.He said that the government would announce compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured. The minister said, “It is not possible to check manually around 300 vehicles, which enter the Fruit and Vegetable Market daily from various parts of the country.” However, he assured that all possible steps would be taken to make the area more secure and safe.

Nisar said that the four scanners had been purchased at cost of Rs1 billion by the last government. Only two scanners were imported, which unfortunately, could not identify explosive materials, he added.

Replying to a question, he said that VIP security was only being provided to the president, prime minister and chief justice of Pakistan.He said 11,000 officials of Islamabad Police were performing duty in the federal capital, but such incidents could not be averted without modern technology.

To another query, he said that the registration of slum areas (Kutchi Abadies) had already been carried out.He said, “The people who are involved in the terrorist incidents, cannot be called the Muslims. No Muslim can kill innocent people.”

To a question, he said, the investigation had started and it would be premature to pinpoint any group’s involvement in the incident.The minister visited the blast site and met the representatives of Fruit and Vegetable Market. He assured them that their concerns regarding security would be addressed.

 

Big blast heard in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: A big blast heard at around 8.25 A.M. on Wednesday morning here, Geo News reported.

Police and rescue teams trying to ascertain the location and cause of the explosion.