Pakistan police reconstruct severed head of suicide bomber

LAHORE: The severed head of the suicide bomber who killed 26 people and injured nearly 70 others here on Thursday is being reconstructed as part of the probe into the deadly attack in the heart of this city.
 
The bomber is believed to have been a man in his twenties who had a few days' stubble and was wearing a track suit. The man approached a police picket near the Lahore High Court and blew himself up. Most of the dead and injured were policemen.
 
The attacker's head was found in an alley between the High Court buildings and the Supreme Court's registry in Lahore, a security official said.
 
"One side of the head of the bomber, who had shoulder-length hair, was damaged," he told the Dawn newspaper.
 
City police chief Malik Iqbal said plastic surgeons at King Edward Medical University have partially reconstructed the head and are still working on it.
 
Special Superintendent of Police (Operations) Aftab Cheema said the bomber had a packed 14 kg of explosives and three kilograms of ball bearings into his suicide jacket. The ball bearings were larger than those used in earlier attacks and the explosive device too was larger than usual, police officials said.
 
The constables who survived the attack recounted horrifying tales of the carnage caused by the attacker, who blew himself up shortly before lawyers were to march through the area to demand the reinstatement of judges deposed during last year's emergency rule.
 
One constable admitted to the Services Hospital said the explosion occurred when a police official was trying to remove a white Suzuki car parked on the roadside.
 
"We don't let anyone park a vehicle near us. As soon as the official tried to open the door, the blast occurred," he said.
 
"We all fell on the road. I could not move my limbs. When I turned my head, I saw one of my colleagues badly burnt," the injured constable at the Services Hospital said.
 
Most of the policemen were hit by the ball bearings, which also damaged several cars and killed a horse that was pulling a 'tonga'.
 
Policeman Syed Imtiaz Hussain, who suffered wounds in his legs and groin, said: "A man rammed into our ranks and soon after there was a huge explosion. I saw the bodies of other policemen burning. It was like hell."
 
Lawyer Khurram Latif Khosa said, "It was a very loud blast. I was one of the first who rushed out of the court and saw a man bleeding from his nose and mouth. He died minutes later."
 
"I saw about 50 to 60 injured policemen, bleeding, scattered everywhere. They were asking for water."
 
At least 15 of the injured, who were admitted to the Services Hospital, Ganga Ram Hospital and Mayo Hospital, are in a critical condition.