At least 23 people were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the main gate of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office in Pakistan’s Mardan district.
At least 23 people were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the main gate of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office in Pakistan’s Mardan district.
A splinter group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jamatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack. Officials said the bomber was on a motorcycle and tried to enter the complex. “He was stopped and blew himself up when he was not able to enter the premises,” said a security official.
According to the bomb disposal squad, 8 kilograms of explosives were used to carry out the attack. Officials said the death toll could rise as eight injured were in a critical condition and had been shifted to Peshawar for treatment. The NADRA office is located on the link road that connects Charsadda to Mardan. The blast occurred at a time when scores of people were lining up to apply for Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs).
More than 27,000 civilians and security forces personnel have died in terror attacks since 2004, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack. He expressed deep grief and sorrow over loss of innocent lives in the attack and prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls.
The Pakistan Army has been battling a home-grown insurgency since 2004 after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan caused militants to flee across the border where they began to foment unrest.
Overall levels of violence dropped significantly in 2015 following a nationwide crackdown on militants that involved major offensives in the semi-autonomous tribal areas and the country’s biggest city of Karachi. The crackdown came in the aftermath of a Taliban school massacre in December 2014, in which more than 150 people, mainly schoolchildren were killed.
