KABUL: (MEP) At least 26 people have been killed and 50 others injured after a suspected suicide attack at a government office in north-west Pakistan detonated his explosives on Tuesday, police say.
The powerful blast occurred near the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) office on Nisatta Road in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The attack is one of the deadliest since last December’s massacre of 150 pupils and teachers in Peshawar.
“At least 26 people have been killed and more than 50 injured,” said provincial information minister Mushtaq Ghani. “[The] condition of 11 of them is still critical,” Ghani added.
The attack was claimed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group Jamaatul Ahrar, which was also behind last year’s deadly blast at Wagah Border.
Deputy Inspector General Mardan Division Saeed Wazir told DawnNews the blast was a “suicide attack carried out by a bomber”.
The DIG added that a security guard posted at the office stopped the bomber at the gate, after which he detonated his suicide vest. The suicide attacker was on a motorbike and rammed it into the gate after being denied entry, he said.
Conflicting reports suggest that explosives may have been planted on a motorcycle parked near the Nadra office.
