idreeskhan

25 killed as suicide blast rocks City

A suicide attack in Marhaba Hotel near Naz Cinema opposite Masjid Mahabat Khan around 1pm left at least 25 people dead and more than 30 injured on Tuesday.

The explosion was so powerful that it completely destroyed the interior furniture of the hotel, converting it into pieces, and the windows of the building were thrown out of their frames.

All the clients who were present in the hotel, including two women, were killed on the spot while the dead bodies of the hotel owner and his relatives were found outside the hotel building on the road.

An employee of the hotel, Hassan, by good luck escaped unhurt as he was checking the dishes outside the main building at the time of the explosion.

Hassan told the Statesman that he went out to check the dishes and suddenly a powerful shock threw him away on the ground.

"I was not able to understand what had really happened to me, but I managed to walk toward the front gate of the hotel and there I saw the most shocking scene of my life as Haji Sahib (Haji Salahuddin - the owner) and his two sons were lying on the road - all of them dead - and the clients in the hotel were also lying on the ground near their chairs as no one around the 12 tables was alive," claimed Hassan, adding that people from the nearby mosque rushed to help and all the dead and injured were shifted to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital. Emergency was declared in the hospital and main gates were closed for general public.

The powerful blast left most of the bodies of the clients, including a woman, who were inside the building, in a very bad shape as their skulls were found broken into pieces.

Those killed in the explosion were identified as Inam, Ainuddin, Shiraz, Haji Muhammad Khan, Haji Khiam, Jafar, Salahuddin, Mehmudullah, Khan Muhammad, Parvana Bibi, Marjana Bibi, Nazir, Shaukat, Imran, Muhammad Sher, Hassan Abdal, Karim Shah, Fazal Subhan, Zayad Khoja, Abdul Qayum, Sharif Gul and Abdul Matin.

Some of the injured included: Painda, Muzamil, Subhan, Naeem, Abdul Halim, Mir Zaman, Muhammad Anwar, Musafar, Nauman, Haji Pervez, Shakil, Mujahid, Ayaz, Khitab Gul, Muhammad Hussain, Marjan and Jamaluddin.

Police said that they had found two legs without any body and they were suspecting that the explosion was the doing of a suicide bomber. However, they made it clear that the hotel was a soft target which could be hit easily and so it was unlikely that any one would use a suicide bomber against it and they would be able to discover the truth through further investigations.

The provincial law minister, Malik Zafar Azam, told reporters that it was without any doubt a suicide attack as they had recovered two legs and on one of the legs there is a warning that 'whoever dared to work for the US would meet the same fat'. On the other leg, there was a warning in Persian which was being examined, he added. When contacted, the SSP, investigation, Qazi Jamil, said that it was a suicide bombing and they would investigate the matter.

5kg explosives used in device

Police investigation team has confirmed a high intensity and quantity explosives were used in Marhaba Restaurant bomb.

According to the police, 4 to 5 kilograms of explosives were used in the bomb. "During initial investigations, it was confirmed that about 5km of explosives were used in the device," an official said.

Compensation announced

NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani on Tuesday announced Rs100,000 for the heirs of each victim who were killed in blast here at a hotel.

The Chief Minister also announced Rs50,000 each for the critical injured and Rs25,000 each for those who sustained minor injuries, according to a statement issued here.

Experts’ team inspects site

A team of experts has been sent from Islamabad to assist the process of investigation. The team visited the site of the blast and inspected the wreckages and collected the body parts which would be sent for DNA tests.

The investigation team would be led by SSP Investigation Qazi Jamil while the DIG investigation Fayyaz Toru would supervise the whole process.

By Idrees Khan
CEO HRSWS International
Pakistan

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