Impunity Watch Reporter, AsiaISLAMABAD, Pakistan-The death toll from a suicide attack on a volleyball match in northwest Pakistan has risen as rescuers searched for bodies at the scene. Ninety-three people have been confirmed dead after the bombing in Lakki Marwat.
Police say elderly people and children were watching the game when the suicide-bomber drove his vehicle onto the field. Police state that at least six children were among those killed and more than 100 people were injured. It was the deadliest attack in the region since a Peshawar bombing in October which killed over 100.
Since the beginning of October more than 600 people have died in militant attacks, most of which are believed to be in retaliation for the Pakistan army’s new campaign against the Taliban.
Attacks on sporting events is unusual, and no group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but analysts say that is not uncommon when many civilians are killed. Police say the attack may have been retaliation for attempts by local residents to get rid of militants. Chief Ayub Khan told news agencies ” Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area. This attack seems to be a reaction to their expulsion.” Among those killed are believed to be members of a local peace committee who have been campaigning for an end to the violence.
A member of the committee, Mushtaq Marwat, said the attack occurred as the committee met in a nearby mosque. On Saturday, body parts remained strewn across the field and emergency services were still searching the rubble for victims in the attack. A man injured in the explosion said: “All the people had gathered together watching [the game], when suddenly a [Mitsubishi] Pajero came in the middle of the field and blew up…Suddenly there was a huge blast. We went out and saw bodies and injured people everywhere.”
The military was deployed to help authorities with the clean-up process. Lakki Marwat lies near North and South Waziristan, where insurgents have launched attacks across north-west Pakistan, as well as into parts of Afghanistan. In response to the attack , security was increased as a precaution for a boxing tournament in Karachi on Saturday, featuring teams from India and China.
This is the second bombing in a week. On Monday a bombing left 43 people dead in a Shiite Muslim march, an attack for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.
For more information, please see:
BBC News- Pakistan Volleyball Bomb Toll Climbs To More Than 90– 2 January 2010
SkyNews- Death Toll Rises In Volleyball Game Attack – 2 January 2010
ABC News- Volleyball Blast Death Toll Rises To 93– 2 January 2010
