Two Americans Seriously Injured in Heinous Pakistan Car Bomb Attack

Two Pakistanis were killed and 19 others injured in a monstrous car bomb attack on Monday, September 3rd, 2012 in Peshawar, a north-western city in Pakistan. Among the injured were two Americans in the U.S. government's SUV.

Stark but Live Saving Decisions

The attack is a stark reminder of the dangers that beset U.S. officials when they work in Pakistan or anyone really who is not a bloodthirsty terrorist, especially in the north-west part of the country where al-Qaeda militants and the Taliban are significantly influential. Peshawar has witnessed a never-ending series of bombings by insurgents in recent years. Attacks against American targets however have been relatively few because of high-security measures adopted by the U.S. government.

The armored SUV was struck by the suicide bomber soon after it exited the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar. It was passing through an up-scale area in which are located several international organizations among them the United Nations. As it moved the vehicle was accompanied by a security vehicle.

According to a senior Pakistani police official, two Pakistanis were killed and 19 others, mostly bystanders, were injured.

No Care for Human Life

A State Department communique issued by spokeswoman ToriaNuland stated that two Americans and two Pakistanis, all working at the Peshawar Consulate, were among those wounded. Speaking on condition of anonymity since an official announcement was yet to be released; an Embassy official stated that the injuries sustained by the two Americans were not life-threatening.

The Car Absorbed most of the Energy

This is indeed fortuitous and surprising considering the condition of the SUV. Though armored, the blast ripped the vehicle apart triggering a raging fire. Local residents and rescue workers rushed out to douse the fire and extract the wounded and dead. All that was left of the armored SUV was a mangled shell of scorched metal. The car driven by the bomber was said to contain almost 110 kilograms (242 pounds) of explosives according to Pakistani police officials.

Another Consulate SUV arrived soon after the blast and took the injured Americans away. The escort Pakistani vehicle was also badly damaged and so were a number of policemen who were part of the escort. "If the vehicle had not been armored," said a senior Pakistani police official, "the Americans would have been blown to smithereens".

Killing and Hurting Each Other

American assets in Peshawar have been targeted on several occasions in the last few years. A grenade and car bomb attack was unleashed against the Consulate in April 2010. In that attack four Pakistanis were killed. A top U.S. diplomat, Consul-General Lynne Tracey with two consular employees, survived a gun attack in August 2008 only because the vehicle in which they were traveling was armored. Three months later an American, working for a U.S. funded aid program, was shot and killed while travelling to work. No official mention was made whether the car was armored or not.

Made for IEDs

Ultra Armoring of Kings Mountain, NC supplies a whole lot of armored vehicles to countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, which are hotbeds for assassinations, or attempts, in any form. Its clients are not merely the American government but governments of other countries with a presence there. Additionally, several military contracting companies buy armored cars for their personnel. The vehicles built for these environments are designed specifically to resist bomb attacks endemic to the area.

www.carolinawebpros.com