47 killed as suicide bomber hits volleyball crowd in Pakistan
By Farzana Shah-Asian Tribune Correspondent in Pakistan
Peshawar, 02 January, (Asiantribune.com):
At least 47 people were killed and dozens wounded when a suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle exploded himself on a field during a volleyball tournament Friday in northwest Pakistan.
The blast took place at a time when a volleyball match was in progress at the targeted ground.
The attack took place in Lakki Marwat, close to North and South Waziristan. The bomber struck as the crowds of spectators including children and elderly were watching a volleyball match between two village teams in volleyball ground in Shah Hassankhel town of Laki Marwat.
Laki Marwat District Police Officer Ayub Khan confirmed that 47 people had died in the deadly suicide attack.
The DPO said the injured were shifted to the Laki Marwat District Hospital.
According to reports a nearby house also collapsed due to the blast.
The death toll could be higher as many people are said to be buried under rubble of nearby building collapsed due to the blast.
The Shah Hassankhel is said to be the hub of militants who were forced to flee the area with the help of peace committees.
Police said Friday's bombing in Lakki Marwat city, not far from South Waziristan, was possible retaliation for local residents' efforts to keep militants out of the area.
"The locality has been a hub of militants. Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area. This attack seems to be reaction to their expulsion," Ayub Khan told reporters.
He said the bomber drove onto the field, which lies in a congested neighborhood, during the volleyball contest. Some nearby houses collapsed, and "we fear that some 10 or so people might have been trapped in the rubble," Khan said.
The Pakistani army has started an offensive against the terrorists in the tribal belt of South Waziristan which had irked the militants who have increased the attacks against civil population in retaliation.
So far about 500 people have been killed in the terrorist attacks since October.
- Asian Tribune -
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Human Rights and Freedoms
What ever criticism aimed at the government of Sri Lanka, if the LTTE was taken out as they did we could have gone through the same misery for a very long time. Some people have forgotten how they lived during those 30 brutal years. They did not know when the next bomb blast will go. The terrible human rights violations inflicted by LTTE are never questioned by these so called human rights groups. The people who are defending freedoms never point their finger on LTTE for gross violation of all freedoms in the country. The opposition who ruled the country under the draconian emergency rule never had the strength to get rid of the Tigers. They made LTTE a part of the civil society but with ability to kill at will.
One way the beneficiary of this mayhem seems to fall on one person. Otherwise obscure, with no sense of leadership, only because of family connections who became the leader of UNP, Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe. He is the person who gained capital out of this brutal LTTE killing machine. All the seniors of UNP were slaughtered by the LTTE leaving RW to hold the mantle. He reciprocated this gesture by carving out a section of Sri Lankan land mass to the LTTE.
Now that bombing opportunities minimized in Sri Lanka people can enjoy their real freedoms. The government did not have reasonable time to transform these freedoms to better economic opportunities. Who ever forms the next government it will be an easy task to carry on the development work for the benefit of everyone. We may have to be mindful about the people who slandered the military and the government at the crucial phase of the war. They are making bogus promises to capture power not to develop the country.