Global Courant
KARACHI, Pakistan – Islamist militants have carried out a series of attacks in Pakistan since last year when a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the government collapsed.
Here are details of some of the attacks that took place before Friday’s suicide bombings at two mosques, for which no one has claimed responsibility. The TTP, which aims to impose Islamic religious law in Pakistan as the Taliban have done in Afghanistan, denied any role in Friday’s attacks.
JANUARY
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded mosque inside a heavily fortified security complex in the northwestern city of Peshawar on January 30, killing at least 100 people, mostly police officers, while wounding 57.
The attack was the deadliest in Peshawar since two suicide bombings at All Saints Church killed dozens of worshipers in September 2013, one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistan’s Christian minority.
The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the TTP, claimed responsibility for the bombing. TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani distanced the group from the attack, saying it was not their policy to target mosques or other religious sites.
MARCH
A suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle into a police truck in southwestern Pakistan on March 6, killing nine police officers in Sibbi, a town about 100 miles (160 km) east of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
Islamic State, which is fighting the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
APRIL
Four people were killed and 15 injured in a bomb attack on a police vehicle at a market place in Quetta on April 10. In a successive attack, a station house officer (SHO) was targeted in a roadside blast in Quetta.
The separatist group the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attacks, the third attack on police in Quetta in less than 24 hours.
APRIL
Two explosions at a counter-terrorism ammunition depot in the northwestern Swat Valley on April 25 killed at least 17 people, mostly police officers, and injured more than 50. The valley was long in the hands of Islamic militants before they were flushed out in a military operation in 2009.
The valley’s police chief said experts visited the site but found no evidence of a militant attack.
JULY
On July 31, at least 63 people were killed in a suicide bombing during a political rally organized by the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, which is known for its ties to hardline Islamists but condemns militants who try to to overthrow Islam. the Pakistani government.
The religious group was affiliated with the government at the time.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, which has heightened security concerns ahead of general elections expected in January. It was the deadliest attack on a political gathering since a 2018 election campaign.
AUGUST
Nine soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle fired his explosives next to a convoy in northwestern Pakistan on August 31. REUTERS
