KARACHI: Investigators yet to identify vehicle used in explosion
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 22: Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the local investigators, holding conflicting views, have so far failed to determine which car was the carrier of the explosives.
However, the city police have started investigations, on the direction set by the FBI, into the car bomb explosion near the US consulate on June 14. The bomb blast left 12 people dead and 50 others injured. Investigations are being carried out to establish that the carrier of the explosives was a third vehicle.
The FBI agents had completed the examination of the scene of crime and the evidence available, knowledgeable sources said, adding that the FBI agents were of the opinion that there was a third vehicle, which was the carrier of the explosives.
The FBI agents completed their investigation on Friday, and the Sindh Home Department, in the light of the FBI agents’ opinion, issued a press note on Saturday stating: “After excavation of the crater certain vehicle parts have been found by the FBI and it is examining the possibility of a third vehicle being involved in the bomb blast.”
The FBI, the sources said, rejected outright the assumption of the local investigators that the Toyota Corolla car, belonging to Khanum Motor Training School, was the carrier of the powerful explosives.
The local investigators, however, reached a conclusion on the evening of June 14 that the carrier of the explosives was the Toyota Corolla car, carrying five women. The local investigators had submitted their initial findings to the FBI agents on June 15, when they visited the scene of crime. They were also shown a movie of the explosion, captured by surveillance cameras, installed at various places in the US consulate building.
The sources said the FBI investigators were impressed by the investigation of the local police, but they refused to believe the assumption of the local investigators. The sources added that the FBI agents floated their theory of the possibility of a third vehicle.
The local investigators pointed out that a third vehicle was not seen in the movie of the bomb blast scene while all other vehicles were captured by the surveillance cameras. The FBI agents expressed their opinion that the third vehicle, which carried the explosives, could not have been captured by the surveillance cameras.
The local investigators were of the view that investigations should be carried out with an open mind keeping in view all aspects as there was a possibility of the involvement of a neighbouring country in the bomb blast. Besides, the involvement of people from Afghanistan also could not be ruled out, and there was also a possibility of the involvement of some Western elements, including Mosad.
The sources said the involvement of a third vehicle would strengthen the theory of suicide bombing. If it was seen as a case of suicide bombing, then the perpetrator of the crime must have died, and if the explosives were detonated through a remote-controlled device, then there must be a perpetrator.
The sources said for unknown reasons, the FBI agents were focussing on a possibility of Al Qaeda’s links with the bomb blast.
The Inspector-General of the Sindh Police, Syed Kamal Shah, told a news conference, after the bomb blast, that the Toyota Corolla was blown up into 46 pieces and another vehicle, a Suzuki hi-roof, was ripped apart into 40 pieces. He had not mentioned anything about a third vehicle in his press conference.
However, almost a week after the bomb blast, he expressed his apprehension about this by subscribing to the theory of the FBI agents that there was a possibility of the involvement of a third vehicle in the car bomb explosion.
The sources said police had stopped their investigations and had been awaiting the opinion of the FBI agents after which they had to set the direction of their investigations.
The DIG Investigation, Fayyaz Leghari, had earlier said: “The FBI agents have scanned the evidence and investigations will begin after they reach some conclusion.”
