Twin blasts wreak havoc at Bannu police station

BANNU At least 15 people including nine police men were killed and 30 others including District Police Officer (DPO), Iqbal Marwat sustained injuries when two back-to-back powerful explosions wreaked havoc in Bannu Police Line on Thursday evening. Sources said that two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the main entrance of the Police Lines. The intensity of these suicide attacks could be judged as they jolted the entire area. The attacks were also followed by firing, which showed presence of militants even inside the Police Lines. After the blasts, the rescue teams and ambulances rushed to the site and retrieved the dead bodies from the debris. Hospital sources said that 30 injured and 13 dead bodies were brought to District Headquarter Hospital, Bannu and it was feared that the death toll might rise. Soon after the attacks, police and security agencies cordoned off the entire police station after the reports surfaced regarding the presence of Taliban inside the Police Line. Curfew was also imposed in the city and police cordoned off the entire area. According to police sources, approximately 80 to 100 hundred policemen were present in the Police Line. Meanwhile, NWFP Chief Minister, Amir Haider Khan Hoti and the NWFP Governor strongly condemned the attacks and said that the terrorist could not deter the governments resolve by targeting the innocent people. NWFP government also announced Rs 0.1 million as compensation amount for each injured while Rs 0.3 million for heirs of each deceased. It may be mentioned here that the militants have intensified their attacks in the adjacent areas of FATA as a suicide attacker has also targeted the convoy of security forces in Jamrod, which resulted in killing of 13 Khasadar forces men. Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan while condemning the blasts at Police Lines Bannu and Quetta, said that a home grown policy was the need of the hour to deal with war on terror. In a press statement issued by the party media office on Thursday, PTI chief Imran Khan, Secretary General Dr Arif Alvi, Central Vice President Ijaz Chaudhry, Central Vice President Vice Admiral (R) Javed iqbal, Central Vice President Yousaf Gabool, Central Secretary Finance Sardar Azhar Tariq, Additional Secretary General Saif Ullah Khan Niazi, President Women Wing Fauzia Kasuri, Central Information Secretary Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, Media Advisor to PTI Chairman Zahid Kazmi and other office-bearers said that the terrorist attacks had played havoc with the peace in the country. They regretted that innocent countrymen were facing the wrath of the terrorists while the Government was still busy in making false claims of bringing the peace.

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