July 19, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 03, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 18: A joint investigation team, comprising special investigation group of police, intelligence agencies and Islamabad police, has been formed to probe into the terrorist attack on the chief justice’s convention which claimed 17 lives on Tuesday night.

The joint investigation team would be led by DIG Shahid Nadeem Baloch.

Sources told Dawn on Wednesday that the suicide bomber was sitting on a chair near the gathering of women, about 20 feet away from the stall of Pakistan People’s Party.

A charred and mutilated skull of a suicide bomber was recovered from the site of blast, but its identification was difficult, said the sources.

They said that two torsos were recovered from the site one each of a man and a woman. The bodies were badly damaged with legs and hands were severed.

The link of the suicide bomber was yet to be ascertained.

The suicide bomber strapped the explosive belt on his leg, while its detonator was fixed under his neck, which resulted damaging the lower parts of the most victims, the sources claimed.

The estimated weight of the explosive was more than five kilograms, the sources said, and added that the impact of the explosion was very high as windowpanes were shattered within the radius of 100 meters.

Sources said that pieces of burned leather belt, which carried explosive material, were collected from the incident spot.

Some pellets were also found attached with the pieces of the belt, they added.

Sources said that the investigation team again visited the incident site in early morning and recovered some vital clues.

The team has also been examining the vehicles damaged in the terrorist attack.

According to intelligence agencies’ some well-equipped and trained suicide bombers are present in the capital, who can strike at anywhere and anytime in the city, sources said.

Initially investigation report has been submitted to the interior ministry which confirmed that it was a suicide attack.