By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

 

At least ten people were killed by an explosion at a military checkpoint outside of Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday. At least 20 people were also wounded. Pakistani authorities say that the death toll is expected to increase as rescue efforts continue.

Shahab Ali Shah, the administrator for the region, has stated that based on eyewitness accounts, the attack was a suicide bombing. According to police, the suicide bomber rode a motorcycle loaded with explosives into a roadside military checkpoint located on the Torkham-Jalalabad Highway, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The bomber drove the motorcycle directly into a police car and the checkpoint, detonating the explosives on the vehicle. In addition to the casualties, several vehicles and buildings near the checkpoint were damaged in the explosion.

Among those killed in the explosion were a child, a military officer, and a prominent senior member of the Tribal Union of Journalists. At least five policemen were also killed. Saiful Islam, an official in the region, has stated that a local security official, Nawab Shah, appears to have been the intended target.

It is unclear at this time who planned the bombing, and multiple parties appear to be taking responsibility for the attack. The senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Maqbool Dawar, is one of the parties who has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Mr. Dawar told Reuters that the bombing was revenge for the deaths of Taliban members who died recently while in government custody. A separate Taliban group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar (TTP-JA), has also claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The explosion occurred in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas near the outskirts of Peshawar. The region has been marked by fighting between security forces and the Pakistani Taliban since more than 150 people were killed in a nearby school in December 2014.

At least 26 people were killed in another suspected suicide attack on a government building in northwestern Pakistan last month.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera America – Deadly suicide blast in Pakistan kills at least 10 – 19 January 2016

BBC – Pakistan Suicide Bombing ‘Kills 10’ in Peshawar – 19 January 2016

NBC News – Motorcycle Suicide Attack Hits Major Pakistan Highway, Killing 10 – 16 January 2016

Newsweek – Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 10 in Northwest Pakistan – 19 January 2016

The New York Times – Explosion, Said to Be Suicide Bombing, Kills 8 in Northwest Pakistan – 19 January 2016