16 killed in KP govt employees’ bus blast

53 injured; Lashkar-e-Islam, another militant group claim responsibility; PM, Imran, Bilawal others condemn blast

PESHAWAR: Sixteen persons, including government employees, were killed and 53 others sustained injuries when a bomb planted in a passenger bus coming from Dargai went off on the Sunehri Masjid Road near the West Cantonment Police Station here on Wednesday.

The concerned bus started its journey at around 6:30am from Dargai in the Malakand district and picked passengers on the way as it made its way to Peshawar via Khanmai in Charsadda district before coming on the Motorway. The bus was near the well-known mosque, Sunehri Masjid, when the explosives planted in the vehicle went off at around 8:05am. The bus, mostly carrying government employees serving in lower grades, used to ply on the route from the Dargai bazaar to Hayatabad in Peshawar.

“Thirteen people were killed and 53 others were wounded in the blast,” Kashif Zulfiqar, Superintendent of Police (SP), Cantt Peshawar, told The News. Some television channels put the death toll at 16 and others at 17.

An official said that a few bodies were not among the official count as they were transported home instantly. In that case, the death toll was more than 13 conceded by the government officials.

“It was an improvised explosive device (IED) weighing six to eight kilograms and planted under a seat in the middle of the bus. The device was probably time-controlled,” said Kashif Zulfiqar.

Shopkeepers and passersby rushed towards the vehicle after the blast ripped through it to help the injured. Parents were taking children to schools when the blast took place. Many persons in the vicinity of the blast ran away to save their lives.

Several people died instantly while others who sustained injuries cried for help. The road remained blocked after security personnel arrived at the spot and took up positions. This caused severe trafficUniversity Road. 

The personnel of Rescue 1122 also arrived at the site of the incident immediately after the blast. A state of emergency was declared at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar where 10 bodies and 44 wounded were brought.

According to police, three bodies and 11 wounded persons were taken to the Combined Military Hospital while an injured was rushed to the Khyber Teaching Hospital. Some of the injured were initially rushed to the nearby Cantonment General Hospital.

The dead and wounded included employees of various government departments who used to travel daily to Peshawar for work and returned to their hometowns in the afternoon.

According to the LRH spokesperson, some of those killed in the blast included a lecturer, Muhammad Riaz, and Ismail Khan from Takht Bhai, a government servant Arshad Ali from Dargai, Arshad Khan from Mardan, Muhammad Hamid from Tangi in Charsadda, Muhammad Inam from Mardan, Shahid Ali Khan from Jalala, Sattaruddin from Charsadda, Anwaruddin from Badraga and an Afghan national identified as Shahid. Three women and a child were among the wounded.

"A few women and children also travelled in the bus. Some of the passengers died instantly while I along with others sustained injuries," said one Umar. Muhammad Said, 47, from Takkar village in Mardan, was also among the dead. 

According to Imran Takkar, who also belonged to Takkar in Mardan, the deceased Muhammad Said was known in the entire village as "mamun" (uncle) and used to visit Peshawar frequently. "He recently bought a house with some money borrowed from close friends and was yet to move into it," said Imran Takkar, who urged the government to announce compensation for the family of Muhammad Said and other victims of the blast.

"More than 15 ambulances and 70 rescuers took part in the rescue operation. The number of deaths could have been higher if we had not cut the bus to pull out the wounded," said Bilal Ahmad Faizi, spokesperson for the Rescue 1122.

According to the officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad, the bomb was probably planted by the terrorists in a bag. Many passengers were carrying bags and thus it wasn't difficult for the terrorists to take a bag with the bomb inside the bus.

This is the third time that a moving bus coming to or from Peshawar has come under attack in recent years. Two earlier attacks in 2012 and 2013 killed around 40 people and wounded several others.

At least 19 people were killed and more than 20 were injured when a bomb in a moving bus went off on the Charsadda Road near Peshawar in June, 2012. Another 19 were killed and around 40 wounded in one such attack in September, 2013 on the same Charsadda Road.

Terrorist attacks have recently increased with two major attacks in Charsadda, another in Mardan and two bombings in or near Peshawar in the last less than three months. Peshawar bureau adds: The outlawed Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and another unfamiliar militant group claimed responsibility for the bomb explosion in the passenger bus.

The Lashkar-e-Islam, led by Mangal Bagh who escaped to Afghanistan's Nangarhar province after the military operations, Khyber-1 and Khyber-2 in his native Khyber Agency in 2014, has in the past also claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks in Peshawar. Mangal Bagh reportedly personally called some reporters to claim responsibility for the bus explosion in Peshawar. He said the attack was to avenge the approval given by the Pakistan Army chief on Tuesday to the execution of 13 militants and also the ongoing military operations in Fata.

The Lashkar-e-Islam used to have a presence in Bara before it was pushed out and built sanctuaries in Tirah valley. Later, it relocated to eastern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, an unknown group calling itself Majlis Lashkari also claimed responsibility for the blast in the bus. The claim was made by its spokesman Abdullah Waziristani. 

Our correspondent adds from Takht Bhai: Seven persons who lost lives in the Peshawar bus blast were laid to rest in their ancestral areas on Wednesday.

The bodies were shifted to different villages in Takht Bhai tehsil in Mardan district for burial. They included Ismail Khan, Inamullah, Riaz Khan, Shahid Ali Khan, Muhammad Said, Malik Noor Muhammad and Arshad Khan. They were laid to rest amid sobs in their ancestral graveyards.

Six others including Ubaidullah, Ikram, Rafiq Shah, Said Bacha, Faiza Bibi and Dil Feroza Bibi belonging to Takht Bhai were critically injured in the blast and had to be hospitalised. 

Agencies add: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, PTI chief Imran Khan, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Quaid-e-Millat-e-Jafria Agha Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi and other leaders condemned the blast in Peshawar. 

In their separate statements, they expressed sympathy with the bereaved families and prayed Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace.