By Dilshad Khan
KAMRA, Pakistan - A suicide car bomber struck near a bus carrying children of Pakistani air force employees to school at a northern army base Monday, the military said. At least five children were wounded.
The bomber sped toward the bus and detonated his explosive yards away from it, said Tariq Hanif, the police chief in Kamra, where the army base is located.
"The bus driver has told us that he tried his best to avoid a crash on seeing the suspected speeding car approaching toward him," Hanif said.
Police said the children were all under 12. They were in stable condition, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad. The bus driver and a guard were also injured.
"This barbaric attack shows how cruel the terrorists are," Arshad said.
Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, has witnessed scores of terrorist attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives in the past several years.
The latest attack came a day after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a police outpost, killing 12 people and wounding several others. That attack occurred in Pakistan's Swat valley, the site of a military operation against Islamic militants loyal to a fugitive cleric.
Militants this summer seized tracts of the area, a former tourist destination 100 miles from the capital, Islamabad. On Saturday, the army announced that government troops had retaken all the towns seized by the militants, killing 290 of them and capturing 140.
Source: AP
Muslims Against Sharia condemn barbaric acts of Islamic terrorists. We pray for the victims and their families.
May everyone who is involved in planning of the attacks soon join homicide bombers.