CHARSADDA: At least seven people were martyred and 21 others injured on Tuesday in militants’ suicide attack on a district and session court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district. Police said the suicide bombers attacked a local court in Tangi tehsil of Charsadda close to Mohmand Agency.
All three suicide bombers were also eliminated as security forces foiled the attack. Seven people, including one lawyer and two policemen, were martyred and 21 others were injured.
According to Deputy Commissioner Tahir Zaffar, one of the terrorists blew himself up at the court’s entrance as they failed to enter the court premises due to strict security while two managed to enter the building where a large number of lawyers and litigants were present and judges were hearing cases. Eyewitnesses say that some lawyers scaled walls to save their lives.
They opened indiscriminate fire on people. Police commandos and security forces quickly responded and killed the two bombers following exchange of fire that lasted for about 30 minutes, police said. In the shootout, two policemen were martyred.
Law enforcement agencies rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area that hosts several government offices.
The injured were immediately shifted to Civil Hospital Tangi. Talking to media, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Shahram Tarkai said that emergency has been declared at all the hospitals in Charsadda and Peshawar. The banned militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) has claimed responsibility of the attack. Spokesperson JuA, Asad Mansoor in a statement said that the attack was a part of their “Ghazi operation.”
The blasts came amid a fresh wave of terrorism in the country. Multiple militant attacks, including a major suicide attack in Sehwan, took place last week, prompting countrywide security alert and crackdown against terrorists. Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar strongly condemned the terrorist attack.
NNI/Agencies
