By IANS,
Peshawar : Yet another terror attack took place here Thursday when a suicide bomber struck at a court complex, killing at least 16 people and injuring 25. This was the ninth terror strike in the capital of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province since early October.
District Coordination Officer Sahibzada Anis said that a suicide bomber wanted to enter the complex of courts on the city’s busy Khyber Road, but the police stopped him.
The bomber resisted and later detonated his bomb, he said.
The official said that three policemen and two lawyers were among those killed in the attack.
The huge explosion took place in an area which houses the offices of a spy agency, Governor House and chief minister’s residence, Xinhua news agency said.
Saab Gul, medical superintendent at Lady Reading Hospital, told Geo News that 16 people had been killed and five among the injured were in a critical condition.
All schools in Peshawar were closed after the blast.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the bomb blast in Peshawar. He deplored the loss of innocent lives.
Pakistan has been struck by a series of terror attacks since Oct 5, when the latest wave of violence was unleashed by the Taliban which is battling the army in the rugged terrain of South Waziristan.
This was the ninth terror attack in Peshawar since early October. Over 225 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in the eight earlier attacks.
The city witnessed this year’s worst terror attack Oct 28 when a massive explosion in a crowded market killed 117 people and injured over 200.
On Oct 9, 50 people were killed in a bomb explosion. Less than a week later Oct 15, one person died in a blast while the very next day 15 people were killed in a major explosion. While the Oct 23 blast left 15 people injured, five days later saw the horrific bombing in bustling Meena Bazar where 117 people died.
This month Nov 8, the Taliban struck again with a bombing that left 18 people dead and 39 wounded. On Nov 14, 10 people were killed and 20 injured in a suicide car bombing. Two days later Nov 16, four people were killed and 30 injured when a suicide bomber detonated his car packed with explosives near a police station in the outskirts of this city.