UN Chief condemns suicide attack on UN food offices in Pakistan

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned suicide attack on U.N. World Food Programme offices that has killed at least five people as a 'heinous crime'.

An unidentified suicide bomber disguised as a security officer struck the lobby of the World Food Program (WFP) office in Islamabad on Monday, killing at least five people, and injuring several others, according to police and United Nations officials.

According to WFP, all the five killed in the attack are its employees, four of them are Pakistanis, while the fifth is an Iraqi, who was serving as Information and Communication Technology Officer. The bomber died too.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Monday, Ban said the attack was "unjustifiable" and a "heinous crime."

The UN Chief also sent his deepest condolences to the victims and their families.

The U.N. World food agency said it is closing its offices temporarily. WFP is providing vital food assistance to as many as 10 million people across Pakistan, including emergency relief to as many as 2 million Pakistani civilians who were displaced by conflict in the Swat Valley region earlier this year. WFP also supports school meal programmes and targets food assistance at vulnerable groups of people across the country.

WFP Executive Director Josette Sheera, has expressed his condolences for the victims, "I wish to express my deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of those dedicated WFP staff members who were killed or injured in this terrible attack," he said.

"All of the victims were humanitarian heroes working on the frontlines of hunger in a country where WFP food assistance is providing a lifeline to millions. This is a tragedy – not just for WFP – but for the whole humanitarian community and for the hungry," he added.

It is unclear who is responsible but suspicion will fall on the Pakistani Taliban, BBC news correspondent from Islamabad was quoted as saying.

The explosion comes at a time when the Pakistani Army is planning to launch a full-scale offensive in South Waziristan, the rugged tribal region in the country's northwest that is a stronghold of the Taliban.

Militants have carried out scores of suicide attacks in Pakistan over the past 2 1/2 years, several of them targeting foreigners and their interests.