15 martyred as ‘suicide bomber’ hits Swat CTD centre

Rescuers say twin blasts destroyed police station building n 53 injured, building collapses after attackers’ firing and blasts n Security across KP put on high alert n PM, interior minister, KP CM condemn blasts.

SWAT    –    As many as 15 people including eight police­men were martyred and over 53 people in­cluding 3 civilians in­jured in a suspect­ed suicide attack at a Counter Terrorism De­partment (CTD) police station in Swat’s Kabal on Monday.

Rescue 1122 spokes­person Ayesha Khan confirmed the number of casualties, adding that three civilians were among the injured.

Earlier, District Police Officer Shafi Ullah Gan­dapur (DPO) said there were two blasts inside the station, which de­stroyed the building. 

According to the po­lice, unidentified as­sailants started firing during which a suicide bombing took place and a second massive explo­sion occurred within seconds.

CTD DIG Khalid Sohail said that the building collapse caused a pow­er outage, the extent of which is yet to be deter­mined. The building that col­lapsed was an old one while most offices and person­nel were located in a newer building, he added. 

The DIG said that the cause of the blasts was not yet known. “Ammunition and mortar shells were kept in­side the station. It is possi­ble that they were behind the explosions. It could also be a suicide attack,” he said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa In­spector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan said se­curity officials were on high alert throughout the prov­ince. Initial information showed the attack occurred around 8:20pm inside the police station premis­es which also housed the Counter Terrorism Depart­ment and a mosque.

All three buildings col­lapsed due to the blast while a fire also erupted soon after.

The police said that sev­eral people were buried un­der the rubble while the in­jured were being rushed to Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospi­tal. Meanwhile, an emergen­cy was declared at all nearby hospitals.

The building of the police station has been completely destroyed due to the blasts, the police added.

Rescue 1122 officials said operation is being carried out to rescue the people trapped under the debris of the building. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the incident and expressed grief over the lives lost. He prayed for the martyrs and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.

The premier also prayed for the early recovery of the injured and directed the au­thorities concerned to pro­vide them with medical assis­tance. He also sought a report of the incident from the rel­evant authorities. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also strongly condemned the blast and expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident.

KP Caretaker Chief Minis­ter Muhammad Azam Khan also strongly condemned the blast, and directed the rele­vant authorities to speed up rescue and relief operations.

The chief minister said the government would not aban­don the families of the mar­tyred police officials.

The latest attack comes as Pakistan faces a rise in ter­rorism incidents, with mil­itants targeting law enforc­ers in their new offensive. The security agencies have also ramped up operations against the terrorists.

Meanwhile, Prime Minis­ter Shehbaz Sharif Monday strongly condemned the sui­cide blast in Counterterror­ism Department (CTD) Po­lice Station Kabal in Swat and reiterated that security and police forces would com­pletely eliminate the curse of terrorism.

Expressing deep grief over the loss of lives, the prime minister expressed his sympathies with the be­reaved families and prayed for the high ranks of the Shu­hada, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. He also prayed for the early re­covery of the injured and di­rected for provision of all available medical treatment to the injured. The prime minister summoned a report from the relevant authorities over the incident. The entire nation saluted the sacrifices of its Shuhada, he added.

On his Twitter handle, the prime minister strongly con­demned the suicide attack on CTD and said that nation was deeply grieved over martyr­dom of police officials.

“Our police has been the first line of defence against terrorism. We will not rest until we eliminate this scourge. My condolences to bereaved families,” he fur­ther posted in a tweet. 

Shafiullah Gandapur, Dis­trict Police Officer, told the media that the police station of the counterterrorism de­partment at Kabal had been completely destroyed due to the blast.

Article source: https://www.nation.com.pk/25-Apr-2023/15-martyred-as-suicide-bomber-hits-swat-ctd-centre