Militants attack power station in NW Pakistan, plunging city into darkness

USPA News - A group of suspected militants attacked a major power grid station in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing seven people and plunging large parts of Peshawar into darkness, local authorities said. It comes weeks before general elections.

The attack occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, at around 2:30 a.m. local time, when dozens of militants attacked a power station in Sheikh Muhammdi village on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the region`s largest power station. The heavily-armed men initially fired a number of rockets at the power station before launching a full-scale attack, assaulting employees at the station and taking hostage a number of police guards. In addition, several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were planted and detonated at the complex. The attack completely destroyed the station`s control room and caused a fire to break out. As a result, power supply was disrupted to parts of the region, including more than of the major city of Peshawar. Power was later restored but capacity difficulties are expected to last for at least several days. According to a spokesman for the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), which operates the power station, the militants killed four staff members and three policemen. However, Geo News said the death toll could still rise as four PESCO employees and one policeman are said to be missing.