Aftermath of Taliban Mardan Bombing

An explosion outside a government office in north-west Pakistan has killed at least 12 people and wounded 35. He told that the alleged suicide attacker rammed his motorbike into Nadra office gate.

The bomb disposal squad said that an estimated eight kilograms of explosive materials were used by the suicide bomber who was 22 to 23 years old.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a government office in a northwestern Pakistani city on Tuesday, killing more than a dozen people and wounding tens. The blast occurred at a time when scores of people were lining up to apply for Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs).

Officials said a big majority of the blast victims were the people qued up outside the NADRA office.

The incident took place outside the NADRA building office in Mardan when the suicide bomber tried to enter the building. The injured have been shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.

According to reports from hospitals and rescue workers, as many as 21 people were killed in the explosion, with the death toll expected to rise.

TV footage showed dead bodies, blood-soaked caps, shoes, glasses, and other belongings scattered around the site.

The blast in the town of Mardan demonstrated the Pakistani Taliban’s continued ability to stage deadly attacks, despite a major military offensive against its headquarters that analysts say has reduced its capacity.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but previous such attacks have been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The area has been cordoned off, as rescue and security sources have rushed to the site.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif “strongly” condemned the attack in a statement, expressing his “profound grief” at the loss of innocent lives and praying for their souls to achieve “eternal peace”. The militant group is fighting to establish hard-line Islamist rule.

Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the office was part of the “heathen Pakistan state” and therefore a legitimate target.