PESHAWAR: A bomb blew a bus carrying Pakistani police and government workers off a high bridge yesterday, killing eight, as fighting between security forces and extremists flared across the country’s northwest.
More than 200 people have been killed in a cycle of suicide bombings and clashes since longtime US ally Pervez Musharraf quit as president and triggered a power struggle that caused the country’s ruling coalition to collapse.
The turmoil has left the party long led by slain former leader Benazir Bhutto in a position to dominate the government and it has been toughening its stance against Islamist extremists.
However, its erstwhile coalition partner yesterday echoed widespread opposition to Pakistan’s role in the US-led war on terror amid a surge in Taleban attacks.
Yesterday’s powerful blast incinerated the parked car in which the bomb was hidden and left a massive crater in the middle of the long, concrete bridge near the city of Bannu. The badly damaged bus smashed through a railing on the side of the bridge and tumbled about 10 meters into a mostly dry riverbed below.
Jalil Khan, the local police chief, said the bus was en route to a local prison to pick up several inmates. He said seven policemen and an education department official who had hitched a ride were killed. Another 12 people — four police and eight civilians — were injured, he said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though police said militants were the likely culprits.
Army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan said two paramilitary troops died and five were wounded when militants attacked their convoy in South Waziristan on Wednesday. He said the troops shot dead a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle before he could approach them. Several militants were detained, Khan said.
Troops are also battling militants in Bajaur, another tribal area some 320 kilometers to the north. According to an official and a witness, volunteers guarding a tribal council in the Salarzai area of Bajaur yesterday shot and killed another suicide bomber before he could strike.
The dead man was carrying an explosives-filled vest, said Fazl Rabi, a local police commander. Two accomplices were captured. Pakistan’s military insists it is doing what it can to contain militants and prevent them from moving against NATO and Afghan troops on the other side of the border.
— With input from agencies
