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Data Darbar bomber caught on CCTV footage
By Muhammad Faisal Ali
LAHORE: The scenes of carnage at one of Pakistan's holiest shrines was caught on camera by closed circuit televisions which recorded the bombers in the final moments before they blew themselves up.
The dramatic footage shows a security guard at the shrine in the eastern city of Lahore chasing after one of the bombers shortly before a huge blast which sent crowds of panicked worshippers fleeing in all directions.
The images broadcast by local television channels were obtained from close circuit television cameras installed at the Data Ganj Bakhsh shrine where the twin suicide attack late Thursday left 41 worshippers dead.
A guard identified as Salim Raza, who was posted at an entry gate equipped with a scanner, detected a suspicious man clad in a green turban, white robes and a shawl and carrying a bag.
He ran after the bomber who seconds later detonated his explosives, engulfing the site in a huge cloud of white smoke and leaving the white marble floor splattered with blood, body parts and people's belongings.
Pakistani authorities said they had found the heads of the two suicide bombers and were investigating how they managed to penetrate into the area despite strict security measures.
“We were searching everyone walking through the gate,” Rao Fazal-ur Rehman, an administrator at the shrine, told AFP.
“One bomber crossed the gate and a security guard ran to catch him because he looked suspicious but in the meantime he blew himself up,” Rehman said.
One of the two suicide bombers was identified on Friday, as Usman, who was a resident of Barki Hadyara, near Lahore.
His body was identified by his family at the morgue, where they said that he had not been seen at home since many months.
However, SSP Operations Lahore, Chaudhry Shafiq said that he could not confirm the news at the moment.
In the first terrorist attack of its kind in the Punjab capital, two alleged suicide bombers blew themselves up at the shrine on Thursday night, killing at least 41 people and injuring 170 others.
The first explosion took place in the basement reserved for ablution and the second in front of the shrine’s main building where a large number of people from across the province gather for worship on Thursdays.
At first, police announced that some crackers had exploded near the shrine.
The two bombers entered the shrine and exploded themselves three minutes apart.
Surveillance cameras, walkthrough gates and metal detectors turned out to be ineffective.
Around 100 volunteers and several policemen were present in and around the shrine, searching visitors thoroughly.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Chaudhry Shafiq Ahmad told Dawn that two suicide attacks had been carried out and investigators had found the bombers’ skulls and limbs.
He said ball-bearings and other material used in the blasts had also been collected.
Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervaiz Bakhtiar told journalists at the spot that the bombers had blown themselves up during a large congregation.
In reply to a question about involvement of a foreign hand in the attack, he said the strike was a horrible conspiracy but “our own people become instruments in the hands of others”.
The official said an investigation had been launched about the breach in security measures.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Friday, the Pakistani Taliban denied any involvement in the attack.
“We are not responsible for these attacks, this is a conspiracy by foreign secret agencies, you know we do not attack public places,” Azam Tariq, a spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
“We condemn this brutal act. Our target is very clear and we only attack police, army and other security personnel,” he added.
According to witnesses, the explosions were so powerful that a large number of people fell down and several of them were injured in a stampede.
The shrine’s administration announced seconds after the first blast that a generator had exploded in the basement and they might continue their activities.
The bomb disposal squad estimated that 10-15kgs of explosives had been used in each suicide jacket.
Ambulances of Rescue 1122 and the Edhi Foundation took the bodies and injured people to hospitals.
According to a devotee, two gates on the north and south side of the shrine, which usually remain closed, were open on Thursday. He suspected that the bombers had entered through those gates.
Scores of enraged people gathered outside the shrine and protested against terror attacks. They also damaged public and private property.
There were reports that a cracker was exploded before the suicide blasts to create a panic.
Police evacuated Data Darbar to collect evidence and carry out rescue work.
All commercial and residential buildings adjoining the shrine were also searched for suspects.
Following the blasts, an extensive crackdown was launched across the city and several people were detained for interrogation.
A suspect was also taken into custody near the Darbar.
Rumours of terror attacks on other shrines in the city panicked devotees and police also launched a search operation there. Security was beefed up in and around all shrines and religious places.
DAWN.COM | Front Page | Data Darbar bomber caught on CCTV footage
