The August 2008 Dera Ismail Khan suicide bombing took place on 19 August 2008, near the Emergency Ward of District Headquarter Hospital in

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...

, killing 32, including 7 policemen.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...

claimed responsibility for the attack.

Events

Bombing

Early in the day of the attack, a

Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

scholar Basit Ali was shot dead by gunmen. Many Shii gathered there to protest his death when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the crowd. The blast created many casualties, including the policemen who were controlling the crowd.

Aftermath

The Army took control of the area. The injured were brought to military and public hospitals. The blast led to fear of eruption between sects, leading many shops, markets and business centers to close. Section 144 was imposed and pillion-riding was banned for an indefinite period.

Reactions

Shia Community

The Shia community observed a three-day mourning from Wednesday in the city for victims of attack.

Perpetrators

The spokesman of

Moulvi Omer claimed responsibility for the attack calling it a retaliation against Operation Sherdill and said that the suicide attacks would continue until the military stopped operations in Swat and

Bajaur Agency Bajaur District ( ps, باجوړ ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, then during restructuring that merged ...

. However Omer disagreed with public opinion of the motive of attack and said that the attack was not against religioun but was against government authorities and security forces.

Victim's memorial ceremony

Three years after the attack, a memorial ceremony to honour the victims was held on 19 August 2011 and was attended by many people, including the relatives of 20 deceased and 25 injured who belonged to the same family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dera Ismail Khan bombing 2008 murders in Pakistan Suicide bombings in 2008 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan Terrorist incidents in Dera Ismail Khan Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacks Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2008 August 2008 events in Pakistan Islamic terrorist incidents in 2008 Suicide bombings in Pakistan Attacks on hospitals Building bombings in Pakistan