At least one policeman was killed and six other people were injured Friday in a suicide bombing in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, officials have confirmed.
The Islamabad Police has detailed in its account on the social network Twitter that the deceased is the officer Adil Husain, while it has confirmed that among the six wounded there are two civilians.
He also indicated that the suicide bomber set off the explosive charge in his car after the officer intercepted him when he appeared suspicious. «The appropriate action of the Islamabad Police saved the city from a major terrorist attack,» he said.
He also stressed that «terrorists wanted to attack in a densely populated area» and added that «terrorists have been targeting the police for some time to demoralize the security agencies».
On the other hand, the authorities have raised the alert level in the city after the attack, including actions against vehicles without official license plates and a ban on the possession of weapons.
The attack was condemned by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who paid tribute to «the brave members of the Islamabad Police». «Likewise, the Minister of Information, Marriyum Aurangzeb, has pointed out that the capital has avoided «a great disaster». «Adil Husain and the wounded comrades who sacrifice their lives on the frontline are heroes of the nation,» she remarked.
For the moment no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes amid increased attacks by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, after announcing several weeks ago the end of the ceasefire agreed during talks with the government, mediated by the Afghan Taliban.
Bhutto Zardari himself stressed Thursday that Islamabad «will not turn a blind eye if it is found that the Taliban are not stopping the TTP,» before expressing concern over the group’s increased attacks from Afghan territory. Thus, he said, if the Taliban decide to carry out operations against the terrorist group, Pakistan is ready to support them.
Pakistan’s National Counter-Terrorism Authority said last week that the TTP group expanded its networks during peace talks with the government and added that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan allowed it to increase its activities in the neighboring country, nearly two weeks after the armed group announced the end of the ceasefire.
The TTP, which differs from the Afghan Taliban in organizational matters but follows the same rigorist interpretation of Sunni Islam, brings together more than a dozen Islamist militant groups operating in Pakistan, where they have killed some 70,000 people in two decades of violence.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
