48 suspects held during operation in Rawalpindi areas

RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi police conducted several raids in the Rawal Division and held forty-eight suspected persons following the blast in RA Bazar that killed 14 persons including seven security men on Monday, Geo News reported Tuesday.

RPO Rawalpindi Akhtar Umer Hayat Lalika told that the search operation was conducted in the areas including Fauji Colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, Bangash Colony, Gali Loharan and other adjoining areas.

During the raids, police apprehended 85 suspected persons initially and after questioning, 48 persons were arrested.

Police have also seized a dubious car during the operation.

It is pertinent to mention here that 14 persons including seven soldiers were killed and 29 others injured on Monday morning in the city’s garrison area.

The suicide attack took place near the Army Officers Mess on Mehmoodabad Road, main RA Bazaar Chowk, with the General Headquarters (GHQ) some 10-minute’s walk from the blast site.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) owned the Rawalpindi attack as they did Sunday’s hit that left 26 soldiers dead and over 20 wounded in Bannu.

The 14-year-old suicide bomber, who seemed to be a scavenger, blew himself up in a gathering of soldiers who were walking to their offices from the Army Officers Mess at 7.37am, eyewitnesses said.

Security forces reached the site immediately after the incident and cordoned off the area. Residents of the area were forced to stay indoors. The bomb disposal squad was called in to ensure the safety of the residents.

The security forces detained two injured suspects from the spot, including a 13/14-year-old waste paper scavenger reportedly accompanying the suicide bomber. Journalists were not allowed to approach the blast site, as the security personnel gathered evidence.

The security forces found a live hand grenade a few yards away from the epicenter of the blast and the bomb disposal squad defused it, the sources said.

Later, in the evening, the RA Bazaar police arrested an Afghan national identified as Zahir Khan, son of Mirdil and sustained injuries but avoided to go to hospital. Consequently, RA Bazaar Police SHO Muhammad Abbas arrested and shifted him to DHQ Hospital.