Pakistan suicide bomber’s plan backfires; detonates before reaching target

A suspected suicide bomber was killed on Tuesday when his explosives detonated prematurely in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, preventing what police say could have been a major attack.

The blast took place near the Doa Ghoda Bridge in the Surani area of Bannu district. Police said the motorcycle-borne attacker blew himself up before reaching his intended target, resulting in no casualties or damage to property.

The bomber was identified as Ziad alias Hamza, whom investigators describe as the mastermind behind a string of targeted killings of police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel in Bannu. He was also known for his expertise in assembling improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to police.

His accomplice managed to escape despite being injured. Police said they recovered a pistol, ammunition and bomb-making materials from the site as a search operation was launched to trace the fugitive.

Tuesday’s failed strike in KP comes less than a week after a suicide bombing outside an Islamabad court killed 12 people, marking the capital’s first mass-casualty attack on civilians in a decade. The bombing signalled a sharp escalation in militant activity and prompted the government to issue its strongest warning yet to Afghanistan.

Following the Islamabad attack, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declared that Pakistan had been pushed into a “state of war”, alleging that the strike carried a message from Kabul. He warned that Pakistan had the “full power to respond” if Afghan authorities failed to act against militants Islamabad says operate from Afghan soil. Kabul has denied any involvement even as border skirmishes and failed follow-up peace talks have further heightened tensions.

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With PTI inputs

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