At Least 16 Killed In Blasts At Pakistan Counterterrorism Office

The death toll from a series of explosions that rocked a counterterrorism facility in Northwest Pakistan rose to 16 on Tuesday morning, according to the authorities.

The Inspector General of Khyer Pakhtunkhwa police Akhtar Gandapur told AFP that the dead included policemen, 5 suspected terrorists who were being held for interrogation and two brother aged 4 and 6 who lived nearby.

Sharifullah Khan, a senior police official in Kabal also said more than 50 people were injured in the blasts on Monday at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Khyer Pakhtunkhwa province’s Swat Valley which neighbours Afghanistan.

The police boss ruled out the possibility of any terrorist activity, saying the blasts were caused by a short-circuit in the basement storing grenades and other explosives.

“We have not yet found any material or visual evidence suggesting a suicide attack but we will look into all aspects during investigations,” he said.

Among the things stored included 300kg of explosives in addition to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and suicide vests which had been recovered from the custody of terrorists.

The building complex also houses the Kabal district police station and headquarters of a reserve police force. However, the main damage was done to the counterterrorism department building.

The building complex also houses the Kabal district police station and headquarters of a reserve police force, but the main damage was done at the counterterrorism department building.