Swat bomber was proclaimed offender and came from Afghanistan, say police officials

PESHAWAR: The suicide attacker, who killed about 11 army personnel on Saturday in the Swat district of northwestern Pakistan, was wanted by local police in various criminal cases, officials told Arab News.
Shahzada Khan, an officer from the Kabal police station in Swat, added that the bomber, named Siddique, was a resident of the Dadhara area of Kabal, and was wanted by police for two encounters with them in 2008 and 2010.
“Siddique was proclaimed an offender since his first armed clash with the local police on June 27, 2008,” Shahzada told Arab News.
District Police Officer Wahid Mehmood told Arab News that since Saturday’s attack, the police, along with army and intelligence agencies, were carrying out search and strike operations in several areas of Swat, including Dadhara, Charbagh, Saidu Sharif, and Mingora.
“During the last two months, about six such terrorist missions have been thwarted,” he said.
The senior official added that the attacker “who came from Afghanistan attacked the first target that came his way.”
Shafiullah, a resident of Kanju, a township in Swat, told Arab News that the venue of Saturday’s attack was Sharifabad, once a Taliban FM radio station base, back in 2009.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Saturday claimed responsibility for Swat attack.
In a message, TTP warned more attacks in the days to come.
Ismail Khan, an analyst based in Peshawar, said that the attack did not mean that TTP had returned to Swat: “Militants carry out such attacks whenever they find an opportunity to do so, and militants did not stop their attacks. In fact, several people were killed in targeted killings in recent months in Swat.”
The scenic Swat valley was a stronghold of the TTP between 2007 and 2009.
In 2009, the Pakistan Army launched a military operation and flushed the militants from the area.
Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday attended the funeral ceremony of the victims. He also visited the hospital to meet the injured.