Zeenews Bureau
Peshawar: Suicide bombers destroyed operational headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and a police station in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing 20 people and wounding 85 others.
A suicide attacker rammed his explosives-laden car into the gate of the office of main intelligence agency within the cantonment of Peshawar city at 6.40 am, killing at least eight persons and injuring 30 others, police and rescue service officials said.
The bomber's car was packed with about 200 kg of explosives, Inspector General of Police Malik Naveed Khan told reporters. Though the well-armed guards opened fire on the car to stop it, the attacker rammed his vehicle into the three-storey building reducing it to rubble, police said.
The blast brought down the front and middle portion of the building and its sound was so loud it could be heard up to 20 km away. Bodies lay strewn on the road and police fired in the air to keep the onlookers away till the bodies were taken to hospital.
In the meantime, hospital officials said they had received nine bodies while three persons succumbed to their injuries after being brought in by rescue workers. Among the dead were seven security personnel.
"It was the biggest explosion I've ever heard," said city resident Asad Ali.
The ISI office on Khyber Road that was targeted is located at a short distance from an Army stadium and the official residences of several dignitaries, including the Governor and Chief Minister of the North West Frontier Province.
It was not clear how many people were in the building when the bomber struck at about 6:40 am (0140 GMT), before the city's rush-hour.
According to witnesses, the explosion was preceded by firing. Plumes of smoke and dust rose into the winter sky after the blast, which also smashed the windows of nearby buildings.
Security is tight across the country with numerous checks on roads and it was not clear how the bomber was able to approach the ISI office.
Police immediately sealed off Khyber Road, one of Peshawar's main thoroughfares, as investigators scoured the site of the explosion for clues. Nearby schools were closed and security forces cordoned off the area.
Police station targeted
Just an hour later, a second suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden mini truck near the main police station at Bakakhel in Bannu district of NWFP, killing eight persons and injuring 25 others.
Two constables were among the dead while 20 security personnel were injured. The police station, located on a strategic road leading to Miranshah in North Waziristan, was destroyed and several persons were feared to be buried in the rubble, officials said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for today's attacks though officials pointed the finger of blame at the Taliban, against whom the Army is currently conducting an operation in South Waziristan.
Peshawar has witnessed some of the worst of the recent wave of suicide attacks and bombings across Pakistan.
Last month, nearly 120 people were killed when a commercial hub in the city was targeted with a car bomb.
First Published: Friday, November 13, 2009, 15:51