2006 Dargai bombing
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Punjab regiment center, Dargai, Malakand District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
08:40 (PST)
| 2006 Dargai bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of War in North-West Pakistan | |
  Dargai Dargai (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)  Dargai Dargai (Pakistan) | |
| Location | 34°30′55.75″N 71°53′45.42″E / 34.5154861°N 71.8959500°E Punjab regiment center, Dargai, Malakand District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Date | 8 November 2006 08:40 (PST) |
| Target | Punjab Regiment |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Weapons | Explosive belt |
| Deaths | 42 |
| Injured | 20 |
| Victims |  Pakistan Army soldiers |
| Perpetrator |  Pakistani Taliban |
No. of participants | 2 |
| Defenders | Pakistan Army soldiers |
| Motive | Retaliation against Chenagai airstrike |
On 8 November 2006, a suicide bombing took place at Punjab Regiment Center in Dargai, Khyber Pakistanhtunkhwa, Pakistan that targeted Pakistan army. The attack left 42 soldiers dead while 20 others were wounded. Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 30 October 2006, missiles were launched on a madrassa in Chenagai village of Bajour Agency at around 05:00 am in which 82 people were killed. The motive of the airstrike was to kill Osama bin Laden. The airstrike was carried out by Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistani forces jointly.[1][2][3][4]
Bombing
At around 08:40 (UTC + 05:00), when 130 recruits of Punjab Regiment were preparing for parade, a short bearded suicide bomber wearing cloak shouted "Allah hu Akbar" (God is Great) and blew himself up killing 38 and wounding 22 people at the spot, out of whom, 2 died later rising the death toll to 40.[5] Another suicide bomber failed to explode and was hunted as he tried to escape.[6]
Aftermath
Attribution and responsibility
Initially the security forces blamed the banned militant organization, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi for the attack.[6] Later on, an unidentified caller told a local journalist that Pakistani Taliban had carried out the attack to avenge the attack on a seminary in Bajaur. The caller was referring to the air strike carried out by United States on 30 October on the Bajaur seminary killing 82 people. The caller said the suicide bombing had been carried out by a group led by a hitherto unknown figure Abu Kalim Muhammad Ansari and claimed that it had another 274 volunteers ready to sacrifice their lives.[5]