Two military officers among five killed in blast near Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: Two military officers were killed on Wednesday when a suicide bomber hit their twin cabin vehicle on Fateh Jang road near Rawalpindi, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asim Bajwa said. Zahir Shah and Arshad, both Lieutenant-Colonels were killed in the blast, Bajwa said on micro-blogging website Twitter. Three civilians also died in the attack. The attack was carried out when the officers were on their way to a military installation near Fateh Jang at 9: 20 am, military sources told Dawn. Initial reports said the blast was carried out by a suicide bomber. Military helicopters were called in at the spot soon after the attack to move the dead and injured to a hospital. Meanwhile, other helicopters were called in to carry out a search operation in the area. The area had been cordoned off by security forces personnel and evidence was being collected from the location. No one claimed responsibility for today’s bombing which comes in the wake of military action and airstrikes in the North Waziristan tribal region. The attack is also likely to cast another blow to the currently hampered peace process with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The two parties had even managed to agree on a ceasefire which lasted for 40 days but wasn’t renewed in the wake of bomb blasts in parts of the country.