AMN / WEB DESK
At least 13 people killed and 50 injured by two explosions in a counter-terrorism ammunition depot yesterday Monday evening. Provincial police Chief Akhtar Hayat said the explosions rocked the counter-terrorism office in northwestern Swat valley, which was previously long controlled by Islamist militants before they were flushed out in a military operation in 2009.
A spokesman said in a statement issued later that ammunition caught fire, most probably due to an electric short-circuit. No evidence of an attack from outside has been established so far.
peaking to media persons later at night, DIG Malakand Nasir Mehmood Satti said the incident was not a result of any terrorist activity or suicide blast but “carelessness” as per the initial investigation. He said the explosion occurred at a weapon storage facility inside an old office of the Counter Terrorism Department on the premises of the police station.
The police officer, however, said a probe was still underway in light of emerging evidence.
20 trapped under rubble
The blast, which shattered the roof of the police station, the CTD office, and a mosque located inside the station, was also followed by a fire. According to senior police officials, at least 20 policemen were trapped under the roof, which collapsed due to the intensity of the explosion.