MINGORA: Eleven security personnel, including a captain of the Pakistan Army, were martyred and 13 others received injuries when a suicide attacker blew himself up at an army unit’s sports area in Swat district on Saturday evening.

The responsibility for the bombing at Sharifabad in Kabal tehsil of Swat was claimed by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Mullah Fazlullah, who heads the TTP, hails from Swat but has been living in Afghanistan for years.

Sources said the bomber had struck the area during a volleyball match. The blast was also heard in surrounding areas.

The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of Pakistan Army, confirmed that the explosion carried out by a suicide bomber left 11 personnel, including an officer, martyred and 13 others wounded who were taken to nearby hospitals.

Ambulances of Rescue 1122 were seen rushing towards the blast site. The injured were later rushed to Saidu District Hospital and Khwazakhela Hospital, where a state of emergency was declared. According to a Rescue 1122 statement, at least 15 victims were shifted to the hospitals.

TTP claims responsibility for attack on army unit’s sports area in Swat

Soon after the attack, a curfew was imposed in the area with most of the roads cordoned off by army personnel and police followed by a search operation to trace facilitators of the suicide bomber.

Swat, which was once infested with militants and a stronghold of the banned TTP, had not witnessed any major act of terrorism for the past five years. In the last suicide bombing that occurred in January 2013 at the local Tablighi Markaz, 22 people were killed and many others injured.

The banned TTP claimed responsibility for the latest attack in an email to some journalists. Presently, the proscribed TTP is headed by Mullah Fazlullah, who was earlier leading the Swat Taliban and calling the shots in the Malakand region, especially the Swat valley.

Mullah Fazlullah had fled the area following the final phase of the military operations launched in Swat in May 2009. More than 2,000 Taliban militants were driven out of the region, government officials say. Currently, he is believed to be hiding in the Kunar province of neighbouring Afghanistan along with his associates.

The military has been on alert for signs of Taliban resurgence, as it seeks to rebuild civilian institutions and win over the local population as a bulwark against radical ideology.

Since being chased out of the region, the Taliban have carried out revenge attacks against anti-militancy activists and attempted to extort money from business owners in the region where more than 4,000 army soldiers are deployed.

Condemning the attack, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said: “No cowardly attack can deter us in pursuing our struggle against the menace of terrorism to its logical conclusion. We will continue our fight till the last trace is rooted out.”

“The soldiers were playing volleyball in the evening outside the military base...when a suicide bomber managed to blow himself up,” said a security official, who asked not to be identified, adds Reuters.

The match was also being watched by civilians, and the casualty count could rise as a large number of people had gathered in the area, he said.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2018