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ISLAMABAD Six security personnel and two civilians were killed when a suicide bomber struck makeshift barracks of the paramilitary constabulary here on Saturday, sending a wave of panic and scare in the capital.
Several people were injured, some of them critically. They were taken to the city's two main hospitals.
The bomber was believed be aged between 17 and 18 years. Both legs and parts of his face and head were found at the scene and sent to the PIMS mortuary for preservation.
This was the second attack on the security establishment in Islamabad within a fortnight. An office of the Police Special Branch was attacked on March 23. Most of the people killed or injured in the suicide blast were off-duty Frontier Constabulary men as their colleagues were on duty at diplomatic missions or residences of ambassadors, officials said.
Bin Yamin, the Deputy Inspector General (operations) of Islamabad police, told reporters that apparently a lone suicide bomber slipped through the barbed wire laid around the make-shift camps and blew himself up after a security guard tried to stop him.
Most of the security personnel were killed instantly by the explosives. Others were killed or wounded by scores of steel pellets placed in the suicide jacket, doctors in Poly Clinic and PIMS hospital said.
The barracks, set up on greenbelts between Khayaban-i-Iqbal and Gomel Road in Sector E-7, was attacked at about 7.35pm and the explosion was heard several kilometres away.
Soon after the explosion, FC contingents deployed on the streets and started firing into the air. Initial reports suggested the explosion was followed by a gun battle between security forces and gunmen.
However, the DIG said that there was no exchange of fire, clarifying that the FC men had resorted to aerial fire amid uncertainty.
However, some police officials said there were a number of assailants, and not one. The shooting by FC personnel was an attempt to gun down the remaining attackers, they added.
A large number of police and paramilitary forces rushed to the scene and blocked all roads. Shops and business centres in the area were closed after the attack.
A senior official said it was a relaxing time for security personnel in the barracks. 'There were about 25 FC men in the camps at the time of the attack and some of them were in their night suits. Most of them were directly hit by the blast,' he told Dawn.
He said the bomber somehow managed to cross over the barbed wire and a security trench dug around the camp and detonated the bomb on reaching near the tents.
He said that body parts of the suicide bomber were splattered all over the place and security officials were collecting evidence for forensic examination.
Intelligence agencies had earlier warned the authorities of possible attacks in the federal capital and officials said they were on the lookout for suspected bombers.
Prime Minister's Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik said that despite best efforts no force could effectively detect a suicide bomber. 'We are making our best effort, but what we need is a collective effort,' he said.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, Mr Malik said that religious extremists operating in tribal areas had carried out the attack.
'These elements are enemies of Pakistan. It's a fight between Pakistan and the Taliban, and there is an urgent need of unity to combat them,' he added.
The FC personnel hit in the attack were members of the special Diplomatic Protection Department (DPD) which has a large presence in the city. They are on top of the regular police force and have camps both in the diplomatic district and on Margallah road where there are a number of embassies and residences of several ambassadors.
A special team has been constituted to investigate the attack. Police officials said late in the night that five suspects had been arrested from different parts of the city.
'We are not saying that they are directly involved in the incident, but we have reasons to believe that they may have some information about the attacker or his handlers,' a senior police official told Dawn.
