Friday, February 24, 2012

Pakistan: 3 Taliban suicide bombers attack police station, kill 4 policemen, wound 4 more

Policemen survey the site of a suicide bomb attack in a police station in Peshawar February 24, 2012. Three suicide bombers attacked a police station, killing three policemen and wounding six others, police officials said. (Reuters Pictures)
Notice the blood splattered all over the walls and the ceiling.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Suicide bombers armed with guns and grenades attacked a Pakistani police station on Friday, killing four officers in the second attack in as many days in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

The three attackers first opened fire with Kalashnikovs, then used hand grenades to blow their way into the building before detonating their suicide vests, senior police official Yameen Khan told AFP.

He said the station was targeted because it housed a large number of officers in downtown Peshawar, which runs into Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, a hotbed of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants targeted by US drone strikes.

Pieces of human flesh and body parts, including the head of one of the suicide bombers, were scattered inside the police station, along with broken windows and chairs, an AFP reporter said.
Pakistani policemen inspect a damaged room and the remains of a suicide bomber following a bomb blast at a police station in Peshawar on February 24, 2012. [...] (Getty Images)
"Four policemen have been killed and four others were wounded," Khan said.

"The attackers wanted to kill the maximum number of policemen, that is why they selected this station. Around 200 policemen reside here," Khan told AFP.

The attack came a day after a car bomb ripped through a bus station on the outskirts of Peshawar, killing 13 people, including two children, raising concerns about a new wave of violence in the city of 2.5 million.

More...