Peshawar/Islamabad: Three US soldiers were
among nine persons killed on Wednesday when a suspected suicide
bomber targeted a security forces` convoy in the restive
northwestern Dir area, the first such attack that has left
American troops dead in Pakistan.
Three US soldiers, who were in Pakistan to train
personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, were killed in
the blast, the Inter-Services Public Relations said.
Besides the US soldiers, four girl students, a Frontier
Corps personnel and a passer-by were killed in the blast,
local officials said.
Over 70 people, including one foreigner and several
Pakistani security personnel, journalists and students of a
girls` school, were injured.
The suspected bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle
into the security forces convoy, which was on its way to a
school-opening ceremony in Lower Dir district of North West
Frontier Province.
The attack was carried out at 10.50 am local time when
the convoy was passing by another state-run girls` school
located a few kilometres from Tirmargarha, the main city of
Dir district, witnesses said.
There was considerable confusion about the identities and
professions of the dead foreigners in the initial hours after
the attack.
Initial reports said the dead foreigners were journalists
or aid workers but this was ruled out by officials.
Forty one girl students, four Pakistani journalists and
five security personnel were among the injured, officials
said.
Four of the students were in a serious condition. An
emergency was declared in the hospitals in Timergarha.
The roof of the girls` school caved in due to the blast.
Classes were being held outside in the sunshine due to the
harsh winter and this had minimised casualties, district
administration chief Ghulam Muhammad said.
"If the students had been in their classrooms, the number
of deaths would have been higher," he added.
The convoy was on its way to the inauguration of a school
that was reconstructed after it was destroyed by the Taliban.
Security forces cordoned off the area, set up road blocks
and launched a search operation to trace those responsible for
the attack.
Dir is located between the Swat valley and Bajaur tribal
region, where Pakistani troops have conducted campaigns
against the Taliban.
This was the first time that American soldiers had been
killed in a blast in Pakistan.
PTI
