Nineteen killed, 34 injured in Lakki Marwat explosion

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a police station in the southern city of Lakki Marwat, 162 km of the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday morning, killing 19 people, among them nine policemen, a senior police official said.

The official said the bomber struck the back-wall of the police station at around 7:00 am, causing severe damage to the premises and several other adjoining buildings.

Minister for Information, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mian Iftikhar Hussain told Dawn that 19 people had been killing in the bombing; among them were eight civilians and two children.

No group has accepted responsibility for the bombing but militants have been active in the area, killing the district police chief in a suicide bombing several months ago.

Also, over a hundred people were killed in a village in the same district January last, when a suicide bomber blew his explosives-laden vehicle amidst a crowed watching a volley-ball match to punish them for supporting the government’s anti-militants; drive.

"The militants are taking advantage of the flood situation. They know that we all are busy in the relief and rescue work," Mr. Iftikhar said, while referring to the devastating floods in Pakistan, which the UN said was worse than the Tsunami, that has displaced millions of people across the country.

"But we are not going to lower our guard," the Minister for Information said. "We need a relentless, comprehensive and effectively strategy to chase and hunt them down in their tribal sanctuary. These terrorists can no longer deceive the people in the name of the religion," Iftikhar said, whose only son was killed by militants outside his home in his hometown of Pabbi, not far from the capital Peshawar.

There has been a surge in violent attacks across the country this month, including suicide bombings in capital cities of Balochistan and the Punjab, killing nearly a hundred people in the two attacks.

Government officials however, continue to insist that while the back of militancy in Pakistan has been broken, the scourge is not likely to end up anytime soon. "It will take years," said a security official. “We will continue to live with these attacks for quite some time."