A roadside bomb hit a Pakistani air force truck in a northwestern city yesterday, killing 14 people as the military pounded insurgent positions in a nearby tribal region.
The blast hit the vehicle on a bridge on the outskirts of Peshawar, provincial police chief Malik Naveed Khan said.
The truck was traveling between the city and the nearby air force base in Badaber.
PHOTO: AP
Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said al-Qaeda-linked militants were likely behind the attack. He said Pakistan had been taking action against Taliban militants, but he did not say whether yesterday’s attack could be a response to recent military operations in the region.
“It is our firm resolve that we will root out terrorism from Pakistan, and all of our security agencies are working together to achieve this goal,” he told reporters.
The powerful explosion went off around 11am and tore a large hole in the bridge, reducing the Mazda truck to a smoldering wreck.
The site was littered with debris, blood and also the mangled wreckage of a motorcycle.
A crowd of bystanders gathered at the scene as victims were ferried away in white minivan ambulances. Firefighters hosed down the blackened carcass of the truck, and air force investigators gathered evidence.
A cameraman at the scene said he saw at least 12 dead bodies and about a dozen wounded people. He said the victims included civilians.
There were conflicting details on the toll. Provincial government spokesman Mian Iftikhar Hussain said 14 people were killed in all, mostly air force personnel, and more than 12 people were wounded.
Police chief Khan said 11 military personnel had died, but air force officials said they had yet to confirm that information.
Air force spokesman Group Captain Tariq Mahmood said the truck was used to transport supplies to the air force base and had been returning to Peshawar when the blast happened.
Khan described the bomb used in the attack as an “improvised explosive device.”
A bomb disposal officer at the scene, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said that it was planted under the bridge and contained between 30kg and 40kg of explosives.
The bombing follows threats from Taliban militants to launch attacks on the government in retaliation for military operations in the northwestern frontier region bordering Afghanistan.
It came as Pakistani army gunship helicopters attacked suspected militant positions early yesterday in the Bajur tribal area, which has been wracked by fighting since last week.
Officials have said about 100 militants and nine paramilitary troops have been killed in the clashes so far, although independent confirmation of the toll has not been possible.
Thousands of residents have reportedly fled the area.
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