Police neutralize suicide bombers, foil major terror bid in Charsadda

CHARSADDA: At least seven people were killed and 15 others injured as suicide blasts struck a local court in Tangi Tehsil of Charsadda, according to district police officer (DPO) Sohail Khalid.

However, timely action by the police deployed at the sessions court prevented a major terror bid after at least 85 died and hundred others injured when a suicide bomber exploded at the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Sindh earlier this month.

One bomber was briefly on the loose inside the busy complex in the Tangi area of Charsadda district but was killed by police some 20 minutes after the attack began, officials told AFP.

A second bomber was shot dead by security forces and a third died when he detonated his vest outside the main gates of the facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police.

The attack was claimed by the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) faction of the Pakistani Taliban, which carried out a series of apparently coordinated assaults last week including a powerful bomb blast in Lahore which killed 14 people.

Earlier this month the group vowed a fresh offensive on targets in Pakistan including the judiciary.

"So far seven people have been killed and 15 wounded," Suhail Khalid, district police chief said, adding that a lawyer was among the dead.

The three attackers had opened fire on police and thrown grenades as they tried to battle their way into the complex, Khalid said.

"Bomb disposal experts told us that each bomber was wearing seven to eight kilogrammes of explosives," he told reporters in Charsadda.

"Police fought bravely and saved Charsadda from devastation."

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's office condemned the latest assault and the loss of life.

"We are a steadfast nation and will not be deterred by such attacks. Our government will continue to fight against terrorist elements and we will succeed," a statement said.

Police and troops had been on high alert in Pakistan after last week's wave of attacks, which killed more than 100 people.

Islamabad launched a violent crackdown in their wake, saying it killed dozens of "terrorists" and carried out strikes on militant hideouts along the border with Afghanistan. Hundreds of families have been displaced by the firing on both sides of the border, according to officials.