PESHAWAR: The police in Pakistan’s restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said on Monday that an initial probe had suggested that banned terrorist group ISIS was behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 46 persons and injured over 100.
The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a canopy in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.
“We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh (ISIS) was involved,” Geo News quoted police officials as saying. The toll has reached 54. The police said they were gathering details of the suicide bomber, while the bomb disposal squad team was collecting evidence from the site.
District police officer Nazir Khan said three suspects had been taken into custody. Provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kgs of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention.