Daily Times

An entire three-storey building was blown apart on Tuesday as security forces detonated a huge amount of explosives hidden inside, after a bloody, 17-hour-long gun battle with terrorists holed up in a crowded city.

Video footage of the scene shows the building collapsing in the blast, with a cloud of dust and debris rising from the fallen structure.

Officials said the militants – who have not yet been identified – had used the building, in a residential area in Peshawar as a hideout. Shafqat Malik, chief of Peshawar’s bomb disposal squad, said the terrorists had planted a motorcycle bomb at the gate of the building, and linked it to more than 50 kilogrammes of explosives throughout the structure. Officers from the bomb disposal squad carried out a controlled detonation of the motorcycle device, Malik said, triggering the explosives inside and bringing the building crashing down.

The blast came after security forces had fought the militants for 17 hours, authorities said. In the moments before the explosion in the video footage, bullet holes can be seen across the building’s facade. “During exchange of fire, five terrorists have been killed,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, adding that one police officer was also martyred.

“Army and KP police conducted a joint intelligence-based operation in Hayatabad Phase VII, Peshawar, against a terrorist hideout. During exchange of fire, five terrorists have been killed while ASI Qamar Alam embraced Shahadat. An officer and a soldier got injured. Funeral prayer of Shaheed ASI Qamar Alam were held in Peshawar,” the ISPR said in a statement. “Search in adjacent areas is in progress. Bodies of killed terrorists have been recovered. Identification of killed terrorists is in process,” it added.

Qazi Jamil, police chief for Peshawar city, told reporters that the terrorists opened fire on security forces with automatic guns, and also used mortars and hand grenades. He said the fight began late Monday and continued overnight, and added that investigators are working to identify the killed terrorists.

“Police and commando units surrounded the house in Peshawar on Monday night, asking the suspects inside to surrender. Instead, they opened fire on the security forces, setting off clashes,” said Shaukat Yousafzai, a government spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to Yousafzai, the suspects had been living in the house for the past two weeks, plotting to target government and security forces. He added that the authorities were trying to determine the identities and nationalities of the slain terrorists.

Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Shaheen Mazhar Mahmood had visited the site of the anti-terrorist operation on Tuesday morning. During his visit, Lt Gen Mahmood had directed the security officials to adopt all possible precautions to ensure the security of the area’s affected residents.

Residents living around the said house were evacuated with the help of the security personnel and rescue forces. Two injured women from the area were also shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex for treatment.