Pak: 50 lk reward for identifying suicide bomber

Islamabad, Jul 7: When Lal Masjid was still recuperating from the Army raid last year, terror strikes again. A bomb ripped through the quite contours of the Masjid on Sunday, July 6 night. Suspecting it to be suicide attack, the Pakistan government has announced a Rs 50-lakh reward for anyone giving leads in identifying the suicide bomber who carried out the attack.

Adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik made the announcement here last night. The suicide attack, which took place at around 7.50 p.m. on Sunday at Islamabad's Melody Market, was targeted at police personnel. The death toll in the suicide attack has increased to 20, including 15 police cops, reported the Daily Times.

Around 20 policemen were injured in the attack, added the paper.

On behalf of the Prime Minister, Malik also announced that in addition to departmental financial support, the family of each victim would be given additional compensation of Rs 300,000.

During his visit to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to see the injured, he said that the upper part of suicide bomber's body had been recovered from the crime scene and that a sketch would soon be released for identification purposes.

Earlier, Malik condemned the attack, after inspecting the crime scene and issued directions to law enforcement officials about investigating the incident.

The blast occurred a few meters away from the local police station. Giving an account of the blast, an unidentified senior security official said, "A young man walked into the police contingent and apparently blew himself up. The blast happened 15 minutes after the protest rally dispersed. A heavy contingent of police was at a main crossing several hundred metres from the mosque and they were targeted in the attack."

He added that after the blast, a traffic intersection in the area was splattered with blood. "Body parts were scattered as far as 50 metres from the scene. Shattered glass also covered the area, Reuters reported. Television footage showed bearded students running towards the scene and ambulances bringing the wounded to hospitals," said the security official.

Another eye witness, said: "We were playing cricket in a nearby park when we heard a blast. There were several policemen on the ground."

ANI