At least one policeman has been killed and six others injured Friday in a suicide bombing carried out by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) 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 confirming 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.
In this regard, he stressed that «the terrorists wanted to attack in a densely populated area» and added that «terrorists have been attacking 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 TTP, known as the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack, while Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that «two terrorists» were killed in the blast. «The car entered Islamabad through Rawalpindi (…) it was loaded with explosives and was headed for a high-value target in the capital,» he said.
The attack was condemned by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who said that «the plan to shed innocent blood has failed due to the action of the security agencies». He paid tribute to the deceased officer and added that the whole country will fight against terrorism, as reported by the Pakistani television channel Geo TV.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who paid tribute to «the brave members of the Islamabad Police», joined in the condemnations. Likewise, the Minister of Information, Marriyum Aurangzeb, pointed out that the capital has avoided «a great disaster». «Adil Husain and the wounded comrades who sacrificed their lives on the frontline are heroes of the nation,» she remarked.
The attack was carried out amid increased attacks by the TTP after it announced 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 group, 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)
