Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) had apprehended Islamabad suicide bombing suspects.
“The proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) acknowledged responsibility for the attack,” the minister said.
He argued the “taxi driver is blameless” because the suspects rented his cab. Sanaullah said the suspects traveled from Kurram to Rawalpindi.
Last Friday, a suicide attacker traveling in a cab with a woman blew himself up as four bike-riding cops of Eagle Squad intercepted them at Sector I-10/4.
A police officer was killed, and seven were injured, including a policeman and civilians, authorities said. A JIT later investigated the suicide bombing.
“We’ve captured four to five individuals and their handlers,” the security czar said as many embassies, including the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Australia, cautioned their residents not to travel unnecessarily in the federal capital.
The U.S. instructed its mission workers to avoid “non-essential and unofficial” travel during the holidays. Other countries followed suit.
The proscribed TTP ended a truce with Pakistan and increased attacks on civilians and security forces.