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PESHAWAR: Two suicide bombers dressed in burqas struck a crowd of displaced people collecting aid handouts, killing at least 41 and wounding more than 60 on Saturday at a camp in Kohat.
The bombers struck minutes apart in the Kacha Pukha camp on the outskirts of the garrison city of Kohat, a registration centre for people fleeing Taliban violence and Pakistani army operations close to the Afghan border.
“We have 41 dead in the twin suicide bombing. There are 64 injured,†local police chief Dilawar Khan Bangash told AFP by telephone.
He said the bombers walked into the crowd wearing burqas, the loose-fitting head-to-toe outfit that obscures the face and worn by conservative Muslim women in parts of northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Body parts of the bombers were recovered and most of the victims were members of the Mani Khel and Baramad Khel tribes who had gathered for registration after fleeing fighting in their home district of Orakzai, he said.
Bangash said the first bomber detonated his explosives while displaced people gathered to register and receive relief items.
A few minutes later the second bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering crowd.
Khalid Omarzai, the local chief of administration, also said 41 people died, including Azmat Ali Bangash, a journalist working for local TV channel Samaa.
Akhtar Jan, 35, a taxi driver, said he heard a huge blast soon after dropping passengers at the camp.
“I rushed to the blast site and put a wounded man into my cab. And when I went to bring another blast victim I heard another blast,†he told AFP by telephone from his hospital bed.
“I fell unconscious and don't know how I was brought here,†said Jan, who received injuries to his head and abdomen.
At least 210,000 people have been displaced from the tribal districts of Orakzai and Kurram, most of whom have registered in Kohat and Hangu towns.—AFP
The bombers struck minutes apart in the Kacha Pukha camp on the outskirts of the garrison city of Kohat, a registration centre for people fleeing Taliban violence and Pakistani army operations close to the Afghan border.
“We have 41 dead in the twin suicide bombing. There are 64 injured,†local police chief Dilawar Khan Bangash told AFP by telephone.
He said the bombers walked into the crowd wearing burqas, the loose-fitting head-to-toe outfit that obscures the face and worn by conservative Muslim women in parts of northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Body parts of the bombers were recovered and most of the victims were members of the Mani Khel and Baramad Khel tribes who had gathered for registration after fleeing fighting in their home district of Orakzai, he said.
Bangash said the first bomber detonated his explosives while displaced people gathered to register and receive relief items.
A few minutes later the second bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering crowd.
Khalid Omarzai, the local chief of administration, also said 41 people died, including Azmat Ali Bangash, a journalist working for local TV channel Samaa.
Akhtar Jan, 35, a taxi driver, said he heard a huge blast soon after dropping passengers at the camp.
“I rushed to the blast site and put a wounded man into my cab. And when I went to bring another blast victim I heard another blast,†he told AFP by telephone from his hospital bed.
“I fell unconscious and don't know how I was brought here,†said Jan, who received injuries to his head and abdomen.
At least 210,000 people have been displaced from the tribal districts of Orakzai and Kurram, most of whom have registered in Kohat and Hangu towns.—AFP
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