PESHAWAR: A teenager confessed to bombing Peshawar’s Shama Cinema before a local judicial magistrate on Monday and said he and his accomplice had hid hand grenades used in the terrorist activity under shalwar to deceive guards on the premises.

The bombings left 15 people dead and dozens injured on Feb 11.

Official sources said the 15-year-old suspect from Bara tehsil of neighbouring Khyber Agency told Magistrate Mohammad Ilyas Khan that he and his accomplice were injured in the stampede caused by the bombings.

They said the magistrate sent the suspect to prison on 14-day judicial remand until March 10 after recording his confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The sources said the suspect was taken into custody by police four days ago from the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, where they along with other injured were shifted after the blasts.

They said initially, police claimed that three blasts had taken place inside the cinema, but later it transpired that two explosions had occurred.

The investigation officer of the case had produced the suspect before an anti-terrorism court judge Anwar Hussain Khan amid strict security measures after completion of three-day physical remand.

The judge was told that the suspect had confessed to bombings and had expressed willingness to record confessional statement. The judge referred the suspect to the judicial magistrate for the purpose.

The sources said the suspect claimed in his statement that a Bara-based militant organisation had trained him before tasking him with attacking Shama Cinema.

They said the suspect said a member of the outfit provided him and his accomplice with hand grenades, while another dropped them outside the cinema on motorcycle.

The sources said the suspect said when he and his accomplice saw two guards bodysearch visitors at the cinema’s entrance, they went to a nearby shop, purchased sticking tape, used it to fasten the hand grenades with legs under shalwar and managed to enter the cinema.

DAWN

PESHAWAR: The police arrested one of the alleged attackers behind the Shama Cinema blasts – a teenager – in injured condition from Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) on Thursday.

Addressing a news conference at Malik Saad Lines, SSP Operations Najeebur Rehman said they had arrested 15-year-old Hassan alias Israr alias Hasan Haroon, a resident of Riaz Garhi, Bakhshi Pul from the hospital.

“This boy was going to be used as a suicide bomber but was also sent for this mission along with another miscreant identified as Bilal who threw the hand grenades with him,” informed Rehman, adding Hassan was also injured in the attack and later hospitalised at LRH.

“Hassan is a resident of Speen Qabar, Bara and hails from the Qamber Khel clan. He was recruited by the Jangrez militant group after being brainwashed,” he said, adding both the attackers were sitting on the back benches of the cinema and they threw hand grenades on the people during the film’s screening on February 11. At least 13 people were killed and around 25 injured in the incident.

“During the course of interrogation, Hassan has disclosed important facts about terrorist networks,” said the police official, adding there were several different groups involved in terrorism and police had taken significant steps to deal with the ongoing series of militant attacks.

“Jangrez is an offshoot of the Darra Adam Khel faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan operating in Peshawar,” said Rehman.

Express Tribune

13 people were killed and at least 35 were injured on February 11, 2014 in a grenade attack on Shama Cinema, situated near the busy Bacha Khan Square in Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa province. The cinema was known for sometimes showing pornographic films in one of its auditoriums. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast at the cinema came 11 days after a similar attack at Picture House Cinema, situated in the Kabuli Bazaar area of Peshawar.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ejaz Ahmed said that three grenades were thrown in the cinema hall during a show. The first hand grenade was detonated near the the front, the second in the back of the cinema, and the third blast followed. Up to 80 people were present in the cinema at the time of the explosions, according to the police officer.

The onwers of Shama Cinema had been receiving threats and had informed the police accordingly. However, the police did not take any steps besides directing the cinema owners to install CCTV cameras.

Condemning the incident, political leaders termed it a step to derail peace talks between the Government and representatives of the Taliban. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid condemned the incident and denied any involvement of Tehrik-e-Taliban.

Five individuals killed in attack on Peshawar cinema

Two hand grenades were lobbed inside the Picture House cinema during the screening of a Pashto film Zidi Pakhtun (stubborn Pakhtun) on February 2, in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan which borders Aghanistan. PPF reported on February 3 that the Pakistani Taliban group Jundallah had claimed responsibility for the attack, in retaliation for the screening of the film which was considered “anti-Shariah”.

According to the police report, the grenades were hurled by a person seated near the back of the theatre.

One of the hand-grenades landed in the middle of the cinema and the other on the head of a man in the audience. Five people were killed and more than 30 were injured.

Police said that cinema houses in the city were already under threat and they had warned the cinema house owners of the attacks and asked them to make proper security arrangements. However, the cinema administration was found to be careless and neglectful.

IFEX