ISLAMABAD: Three people were killed while five others sustained injuries in a terrorist attack at the Imambargah Qasar-e-Sakina Bint-e-Hussain here in New Shakrial when the faithful were offering Namaz-e-Maghribain on Wednesday. The attacker shot dead three persons outside the Imambargah and later blew himself up near the entrance gate. Military troops, Rangers and the Elite Police force cordoned off the area and took control of the crime scene soon after the incident. A brave elderly man prevented a huge loss of lives by taking prompt action to keep the attacker out of the Imambargah. The attacker appeared to be 22 years old, and was carrying hand grenades, Muhammad Yousaf, an eyewitness, said. The attacker appeared in front of the Imambargah at about 6:15pm, whipped out his gun and shot dead a guard deputed at the main entrance for body search, the witness said.He added that the terrorist later shot two other persons and hurled a hand grenade. In the meantime, Muhammad Yousaf, who was on security duty inside the premises of the Imambargah, abruptly closed the main gate and locked it when the terrorist was advancing towards it. Yousaf told the media that he fastened the door chain when he saw the terrorist shooting and coming into the Imambargah after targeting people outside the main gate. Yousaf said the terrorist shot a man who was performing ablution but he could not open the gate. He said that he shouted and asked the faithful who were offering Namaz to go into the hall of the Imambargah. He said all the worshippers, who were over 40 in number, moved to the hall and locked the gate from inside. Meanwhile, the terrorist managed to open the door and entered the premises of the Imambargah but could not find anybody there, Yousaf said, adding that the bomber used abusive language and blew himself up in the lawn of the Imambargah. However, his suicide jacket did not explode properly. A police party, led by SDPO Shahzad Town, reached the scene and rescued the worshippers from the hall and shifted scene and rescued the worshipers from the hall and shifted the injured and bodies to PIMS Hospital. Meanwhile, contingents of military and Rangers troops reached the scene and took control of the security and kept the people away from the terrorist as his suicide jacket was not fully exploded. The bomb disposal squad defused the suicide jacket and cleared the area. The body of the terrorist was taken into custody by the law enforcement agencies for DNA test.Two people, Ghulam Hussain and Abdul Shakoor Haidri were killed on the spot while Sakhawat Hussain succumbed to his injuries during surgery, a spokesman for the PIMS Hospital Dr Waseem Khawaja said. The condition of Muhammad Altaf and Fayyaz Hussain Shah, who sustained injuries, was stated to be critical. People belonging to Shia community staged protest demonstration and blocked Islamabad Expressway to register their indignation against the government and demanded provision of foolproof security to Imambargahs and other holy places. Traffic remained jammed at main and adjacent roads of the twin cities for over four hours. The same Imambargah was targeted on December 24, 2009 when a suicide bomber blew himself up at its entrance, leaving a little girl dead and two other people, including a cop, injured. Our correspondent adds: President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast in the Imambargah and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives. In their condolence messages, the president and the premier said the government was committed to eliminate terrorism and extremism in all its forms and manifestations, adding that such dastardly attacks cannot deter the resolve of the nation. They said terrorists have no religion and perpetrators of the blast would be brought to book. They also offered their condolences to the bereaved families and directed the concerned authorities to ensure best medical treatment to the injured. Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid and Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain also condemned the blast and firing incident at the Imambargah. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Asad Umar visited the Imambargah and condemned terrorists for targeting the worshippers.Quaid-e-Millat Jaffariya Agha Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi also condemned the blast and criticised the government for its failure to provide security to imambargahs. He demanded strict action against terrorists involved in such attacks. Many other leaders belonging to political and religious parties such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, JI etc also condemned the attack.
