Pakistani police say electrical shorts caused deadly blasts
Pakistani police say the twin blasts that struck a counterterrorism facility in the country’s northwest and killed 13 people the day before were caused by electrical shorts and not a terror attack, as initially suggested
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pakistani police said Tuesday the twin blasts that struck a counterterrorism facility in the country's northwest and killed 13 people the previous day were caused by electrical shorts and not a terror attack, as initially suggested.
The short circuits occurred on Monday at a munition warehouse within the facility in Swat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Along with those killed, more than 50 people, mostly police officers, were wounded when the shorts ignited explosions, seconds apart.
Initially, police said it could be an act of terrorism but an investigation later concluded that short circuits caused the explosions, according to a police statement released on Tuesday. Nasir Mahmood Satti, a district police chief, also confirmed there was no attack from the outside.
Associated Press images from the scene showed destroyed cars and downed trees at the facility, which also houses a police station and the headquarters of a reserve police force.
The district of Swat lies at the center of the picturesque Swat Valley, once the stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. The military carried out a massive operation there in 2007 and later claimed to have routed the militants and restored normalcy. However, attacks have persisted.