The attacker managed to drive through the security cordon at the main gate and ram his explosives-laden car into a multi-story building used by the anti-terrorist police as a barracks and interrogation centre. Separately, a roadside bomb exploded Thursday next to a police van transporting prisoners to the local jail in the Khwaga Oba area Dir district in NWFP.
Four policemen and three prisoners were killed in the explosion, local police officer Ghulam Mohammad said. A passing vehicle carrying schoolgirls was also hit in the incident, leaving four of the children dead. Officials at the local hospital said that most of the 15 injured moved there were policemen and children. They feared that death toll might rise as some of the wounded were in critical condition.
OUR REPORTERS ISHFAQULLAH SHAWL, SEHRISH WASIF FROM ISLAMABAD ADD: At least eight persons have been wounded, when an explosive-laden car hit the building of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), deep inside the Police Lines of Islamabad Police here on Thursday.
The blast caused a big crater in front of the four-storey ATS building, a part of which collapsed. Police, Rescue 1122, Rescue 15 and other law-enforcement agencies rushed to the site along with ambulances and fire tenders. The area was cordoned off to rescue the injured trapped in the rubble.
According to the Pims sources, five injured were brought to the hospital, of them four were admitted. One of the injured stated to be in critical conditions, as his lungs were damaged due to the penetration of glass pieces. However, he has undergone surgery.
All the injured belonged to the Federal Police and their names are: constables Tahir Mehmood, Wakeel khan Naveed and Javed and ASI Faizullah. According to Polyclinic hospital sources, one of the injured Mohammad Asif, who suffered minor injuries, has been admitted.
They were of the view that it was a move to divert attention of the security personnel from the Parliament House where in-camera briefing on war on terror was being given to the elected representatives. There was no proper system or machinery to clear the rubble and rescuers and police personnel were removing debris manually.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Islamabad Police Syed Raza Gardezi told reporters that they had been receiving a threat of suicide attack on any of the police installation in Islamabad. According to the sources, the terrorists used high explosive of 25 to 35 kilogram in the blast.
The Islamabad Police chief said the terrorists used a green colour Mehran car, having fake number plate of a Honda car No AGE-789, was stolen from Karachi in 2004. The terrorists entered the Police Lines, saying that they had came to deliver sweets to a police official and detonated the car after they delivered two packets of sweets, he added.