Single bomber responsible for Charsadda attack: Sherpao

Pakistan Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao said on Tuesday that there was only one suicide attacker that carried out the Charsadda suicide attack on him.

Islamabad, May 1 : Pakistan Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao said on Tuesday that there was only one suicide attacker that carried out the Charsadda suicide attack on him.

The latest investigations citing the DNA report and NADRA record pointed out that the head found yesterday was that of a local man who had came to attend the rally, Sherpao told newsmen at helipad before his departure to Manshera.

The single suicide bomber was aged between 16 to 17 years, he added.

Replying to a question regarding prior information of the attack, Sherpao denied any such report.

Sherpao was left spattered in blood but only slightly injured in the attack Saturday in Charsadda, a town near his home village in North West Frontier Province.

Witnesses said Saturday's attacker got within 15 meters (yards) of Sherpao -- detonating the bomb among a crowd that had gathered around the minister as he headed for his car.

While officials initially said that 22 people were killed, by Sunday the toll had risen to 28 dead and 52 injured. Police said most of victims were local people, but also included several of Sherpao's police bodyguards. They said they were struggling to identify several of the badly mutilated bodies.

ANI