ISLAMABAD: The two explosions in the capital city early Saturday were described as a warning from militant outfits against the military operation in North Waziristan.

A senior police official on the condition of anonymity told Dawn that the explosions were carried out to create panic and terrorise the citizens. “It was a warning from the militants affiliated with terrorist outfits,” he added.

“The terrorists wanted to warn the government to get ready for more brutal acts of terrorism in the city against the killing in North Waziristan by security forces,” the official said, adding warning in such a way was never given in the past.

Police say booby-trapped IED used in capital for the first time

Besides, evidence collected from one of the blast sites showed that it was a booby trap which was never used in the capital before.

“It is difficult to defuse a booby trap as it goes off when someone touches it.”

The official said the modus operandi used in carrying out the two blasts suggested that they were prepared by a same group.

One person was killed and another injured in one of the blasts.

In both the incidents, improvise explosive devices carrying low density materials weighing one to two kilogrammes were used, the police said, adding there were no pellets, ball bearings or shrapnels attached with the IED.

The bombs exploded at Super Market and G-9 Markaz at round 2:15am and 3:40am respectively.

The first blast took place in a parking area in the Super Market in which a man was killed and another injured.

The police said the watchman of a jewellery shop found an abandoned shopper in the parking lot. When the watchman touched the shopper with his foot, the device concealed inside it went off ripping his leg part.

The police said after the blast shrapnel falling from the nearby shops hit another watchman and injured him.

“It seems that the device was made on the pattern of a booby trap,” the police said.

The casualties would have been more had the device remained unattended till the morning rush hours, they added.

The second blast took place in a car parked at the parking lot of a showroom at Karachi Company (G-9 Markaz) when the police were busy collecting evidence at the Super Market blast site. However, no one was injured or killed in the explosion, the police added.

The Cultus was brought to the showroom for sale two days back. The device used in the blast resembled with the one that went off in the Super Market.

However, it is yet to be established how it was detonated.Meanwhile, security in the capital city has been further tightened with the deployment of more policemen at various points to avert any untoward incident.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mohammad Ali Nekukara ordered combing and search operations in the slum areas, forests and greenbelts of the city.

Extra vigilance at entry and exit points of the city has also been ordered. The SSP directed for extra deployment of police personnel and security measures at important locations.

He said police commandoes would be deputed around sensitive locations and important buildings.

Special police teams would be constituted by each police station for effective patrolling in their respective jurisdictions, he said, adding that Rescue-15 should keep in touch with the heads of police stations to respond to any emergency situation.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2014