ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber on Wednesday morning struck at the main gate of Pakistan Navy’s Headquarters located in E-8 Sector of the federal capital. A naval policeman was killed and 11 others wounded.
A young man walked up to a checkpoint at the entrance to the complex and detonated his explosives when challenged by security forces. The blast scattered body parts across the busy city center road, police and witnesses said.
Insurgents frequently target military installations and attacks have intensified as Islamabad pursues a fierce military offensive, under Western pressure to do more to eliminate Taleban and Al-Qaeda sanctuaries.
Fazeel Asghar, the city authorities’ top administrative official, told reporters that a man aged around 17 or 18 and wearing a suicide jacket approached the heavily-guarded naval complex on foot. “Security officials checked him and one navy police constable, Mohammad Ashraf, asked him to take off his coat. The bomber then blew himself up and the navy constable died in the blast,” he said.
Navy spokesman Captain Mubeen Bajwa said security guards stopped the bomber after a taxi driver complained about his suspicious behavior.
“A total of 11 people were injured, including five soldiers of the Pakistan Navy and six civilians. One of them is critically injured,” he said.
Witnesses described the scene in the aftermath of the blast, which shattered car windows and left blood streaked across the road: “I was in a nearby street when I heard a loud explosion,” said witness Imtiaz Ali.
“When I reached the main Margalla Road there was smoke near the navy complex. I saw three soldiers lying wounded.”
President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the suicide attack, saying that “such incidents would not deter the government’s resolve to fight terrorism and extremism from the country,” a government statement said.
The attack came a day after a Pakistani provincial lawmaker was killed in a suicide attack in the northwestern valley of Swat, and as Taleban insurgents have intensified attacks to avenge the military’s multipronged offensive.
— With input from agencies
