35 Killed By Swat TTP Taliban in Buner Pakistan
DAGGAR: Thirty-five people, including two policemen and four children, were killed and 20 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a polling station set up in a school for the by-election to the National Assembly constituency NA-28 Buner on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said a suicide bomber, riding a red colour Suzuki car, ploughed into the election camps set up by political parties before hitting the shops and building of the Government Middle School in Shalbandai village, located about six kilometres south of the Buner district headquarters, Daggar at 10:55 am.
The Swat chapter of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.Speaking on the group’s illegal FM radio channel, TTP Swat chapter Deputy Head Maulana Shah Dauran said the bombing was in retaliation for the death of six fighters gunned down in Shalbandai by villagers, who had formed a Lashkar at the government’s behest to hunt down the militants. He alleged that the bodies of the slain Taliban were desecrated and dragged through the streets of the village.
“We have seen the video of that crime and it was shameful. What harm did those Taliban inflict on Shalbandai villagers to deserve that fate?” Maulana Shah Dauran said in his radio speech.
He claimed that more than 40 villagers, including eight political workers belonging to the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, the Awami National Party and the Pakistan People’s Party, were killed in the attack and among them were some who had shot dead the six Taliban fighters in Shalbandai.
He said the revenge wasn’t yet over and every person in Shalbandai would be eliminated for killing the Taliban members.The 20 injured persons were admitted to different hospitals among whom five were stated to be in critical condition.