On 16 August 2015, two suspected suicide bombers detonated explosives at the home office of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Interior Minister

Shuja Khanzada Shuja Khanzada ( ur, ‎; 28 August 1943 – 16 August 2015) was a Pakistani politician and Pakistan Army colonel, who served as the Home Minister of Punjab from 2014 until his assassination on 16 August 2015. As an army officer, Khanzada f ...

in the Attock District village of Shadikhan, from the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

i capital of

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

. The blasts killed the minister and 18 other people; at least 17 people were injured and taken to hospitals.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ; ur, ) or "Army of Jhangvi", is a Deobandi Sunni supremacist, terrorist and jihadist militant organisation based in Afghanistan. The organisation operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan and is an offshoot of anti-Shi ...

(LeJ), a Deobandi militant group with ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, and it was later determined that

Tehrik-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 bo ...

was also involved.

Attack

On Sunday, 16 August 2015, 71-year-old Shuja Khanzada was meeting with relatives and friends at his home office in the village of Shadikhan to condole the death of a relative who had died in the United Kingdom, when the attack was perpetrated by two men strapped with a combined of explosives. According to the initial investigation, the bombers' intent was to collapse the building. The first bomber entered Khanzada's home office, shook his hand and detonated the device while standing next to one of the pillars on the veranda. It is believed a second bomber, standing on the street next to the building, then detonated his explosives, causing the building to collapse when the roof of the house caved in, trapping an unknown number of people under the rubble.

Investigation

According to a preliminary investigation, the attack may have been retaliation for the killing of

militant leader

Malik Ishaq Malik Ishaq ( ur, ; 1959 – 29 July 2015) was a Pakistani militant, and leader of globally designated Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). Formerly a member of anti-Shia militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba, Ishaq co-founded the LeJ in 1996. Under Ishaq's ...

by the Punjab Police. Later investigation by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police and

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...

determined that the terrorist group

was also involved. On 1 October, CTD raided a house in

Iqbal Town, Lahore Allama Iqbal (Urdu, pnb, ) is an administrative zone in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries a ...

, killing four people suspected of being involved in the bombing. In September 2015, one suspect, Qasim Muavia, was arrested. Two years later in August 2017, the Punjab government transferred his trial to military court, stating that civilian court was taking too long. An additional suspect was arrested in March 2016, and in October 2017, one more suspect was killed during a confrontation with police. The attack was strongly condemned throughout the country, including by Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

and Chief of Army Staff General

Raheel Shareef General Raheel Sharif (Urdu: ; born 16 June 1956), is a retired four-star army general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 9th Chief of Army Staff from 29 November 2013 to 29 November 2016. After his retirement as Pakistan's army chief, h ...

International reactions

The attack was condemned by international leaders, including

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called for justice against those who planned the attack. The United States also condemned the attack and offered to assist with the investigation. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad issued a statement, saying, "We support Pakistan's determination to bring to justice those behind the attack and are prepared to provide assistance, if requested, to government authorities investigating this reprehensible act."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attock bombing 2015 murders in Pakistan 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan 2015 murders in Asia Attacks in Pakistan in 2015 Attock District August 2015 crimes in Asia August 2015 events in Pakistan Islamic terrorist incidents in 2015 Mass murder in 2015 Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2015 Explosions in 2015 Assassinations in Pakistan

Attack

Investigation

International reactions

See also

References