Two army officers among five martyred in suicide hit: ISPR
05 June, 2014
RAWALPINDI: Five people, including two Pakistan Army officers, were killed and two soldiers sustained injuries when a suicide bomber targeted an army vehicle at the Qutbal railway crossing near Fatehjang, some 28 kilometres from Tarnol, on Wednesday.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed that two army officers of the rank of Colonel, embraced martyrdom in the suicide attack.
Director General ISPR Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa in a message said two military officers — Colonel Zahir Shah and Colonel Arshad — and three civilians embraced Shahadat when a suicide bomber hit their twin cabin vehicle.
The security forces cordoned off the area after the incident and collected evidence from the crime scene. The remains of the suicide attacker have been sent to a military hospital for a DNA test, the sources said.
The law enforcing agencies sources, quoting statements of the people who witnessed the scene, said an 18 to 20-year-old person was noticed who had been standing right at the Qutbal railway crossing in the guise of a beggar. "As the military double cabin vehicle slowed down at the railway crossing at about 9:30am, the suicide bomber targeted the vehicle and blew himself up."
A rickshaw crossing the railway crossing was also caught upin the attack. The army officers were killed on the spot while two NCOs — a driver and gunman — were critically wounded. The rickshaw driver identified as Mohammad Aslam and two unidentified passengers were also killed on the spot.
The bodies of the military officers were shifted to the Military Hospital Rawalpindi while the civilians were shifted to a local hospital in Fatehjang. The intelligence agencies have initiated an investigation while the identity of the attacker is still unknown.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and top military officers attended the Namaz-e-Janaza of the martyred army officers at the GHQ ground.
Agencies add: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack near Fatehjang.The TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the attack was the reaction to the killing of imprisoned Taliban. He said a week before, seven Taliban were killed in Karachi.
Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari, PPP patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the suicide attack near Ternol, Fatehjang and described it as a cowardly act.In their separate messages, they prayed that Almighty Allah rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.
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