Attack in Pakistan’s Peshawar: What we know about victims, attackers
At least three security personnel have been killed when a suicide bomber and gunmen attacked the Federal Constabulary (FC) headquarters in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar.
“Three FC personnel deployed at the gate were martyred and four others were wounded,” said Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Mian Saeed Ahmad, adding that one assailant died after detonating explosives and two other attackers were shot dead by security forces.
Monday’s attack, which wounded 11 people, came less than two weeks after a suicide attack outside a court in the capital, Islamabad, killed 12 people.
Here is what we know so far and why attacks have surged in Pakistan in recent months.
What happened in Peshawar?
Just after 8am (03:00 GMT) on Monday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of the security headquarters, after which other attackers entered the complex, located in the heart of the city, according to local media.
About 150 security personnel had gathered inside the headquarters for morning parade drills when the attack took place, Ahmad said.
“The terrorists involved in today’s attack were on foot and failed to reach the parade area, and a timely response by our forces prevented a much larger tragedy,” he told The Associated Press news agency.
He said authorities had collected samples of the body parts of the attackers for DNA tests. He added that police are still investigating to determine the identity and nationality of the attackers.
Zulfiqar Hameed, the police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told the AFP news agency that “the attack has concluded, and a clearance operation is under way to determine whether any unexploded ordnance is present.”
Where in Peshawar did the attack take place?
The attack took place at the FC headquarters, located in a densely populated area on Sunehri Masjid Road in Peshawar Cantonment, a garrison area under the administrative control of the Pakistan army.
The FC is a paramilitary police force based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It was established in 1913 through the merger of two smaller paramilitary forces, the Border Military Police and Samana Rifles. It was originally called the Frontier Constabulary until it was renamed by the government in July.
