Blast targeting police kills nine in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: An explosion took place on Friday in Sarband, an area in the suburbs of Peshawar killing nine persons and wounding 47 others, DawnNews quoted police sources as saying. Those among the victims of the blast included women, children and policemen. Speaking to DawnNews, DSP (city) Banaras Khan said the blast appeared to have targeted a police mobile van and was carried out by a suicide bomber. SP Cantt Faisal Kamran said that due to the sensitivity of the area, as it was situated on the border of the tribal areas, police personnel were using armoured personnel carriers (APC) to conduct routine patrolling when they were targeted by the suicide bomber who was on foot. The victims were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) where an emergency was imposed. Casualties were also shifted to the Hayatabad medical complex. According to the latest figures from rescue sources, six bodies were received at the LRH whereas three more were received at the Hayatababad Medical Complex. Security personnel cordoned off the area as a probe into the incident went underway. According to Shafqat Malik, AIG of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), at least eight kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, lies on the edge of Pakistan's tribal areas which have been labelled by Washington as the main sanctuary for Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the country. The city has seen frequent attacks by militants in the past few years, with targets ranging from civilians to policemen and other law enforcement personnel.