2008 — a year of suicide attacks

Frontier and Fata remained open field for terrorists as the worst year for Pakistan in terms of terrorism ended with witnessing 62 suicide blasts, almost half of which ripped through cities of the NWFP and a quarter in tribal areas.

At least 576 people were killed and 1304 wounded in 475 terrorist attacks in Frontier during the last year (2008). As many as 154 policemen were killed and 284 sustained injuries in 133 attacks on police, which include suicide bombing, Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) blasts and rocket attacks.

The presentation by a senior official of the Frontier Police before the provincial government authorities disclosed that 290 people were killed and 711 other wounded in 30 suicide bombings in Frontier during the previous year.

At least 337 people were killed and 585 wounded in 28 suicide bombings in the province last year.

The Frontier Police claimed to have killed 738 ‘miscreants,’ wounded 578 and held 1717 others during different raids. The force maintained to have thwarted 158 terror plots by arresting 66 alleged terrorists and recovering 52483 kg of explosives, 34 suicide jackets, 650 hand-grenades and over 300 bombs, missiles, rockets and mortar shells.

The total number of suicide blasts in Pakistan since 2002 remained 141 till the end of the last year. Swat topped the list of districts where eleven suicide bombers hit their targets, killing 101 people and injuring 294 others during the year ended yesterday.

Four suicide bombers struck in Peshawar in 2008 to kill 99 people and wounded 226 others.

The last suicide blast of the country was that in Buner district where 43 persons were killed and 16 others wounded inside a polling station last Sunday during the by-election on NA-28.

Punjab witnessed 10 suicide blasts during 2008 with five in Lahore alone. Three suicide bombers hit their targets in the federal capital during the year. In one of these attacks Danish embassy was targeted.

Apart from the killing of three alleged bombers in Karachi, no suicide attack took place in the entire Sindh province.

A single incident was reported in Balochistan when a suicide bomber blew himself up and killed a girl student and injured 22 persons in Quetta on September 23.

As many as 56 bombers struck last year. In one such attack former Prime Minister Benazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was killed in Rawalpindi on December 27.

All the tribal agencies, Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan have witnessed suicide attacks during the year 2008.

Suicide bombings took place during 2008 in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Bhakkar, Attock, Peshawar, Mardan, Parachinar, Swat, Darra Adamkhel, Landikotal, Bannu, Bara, Dera Ismail KhanIsmail Khan, Dir Upper, Buner, Charsadda, Hangu, Quetta and Karachi.