PTI candidate Ikramullah Gandapur martyred in DI Khan attack

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Ikramullah Gandapur was martyred in a suicide attack that wounded four others, a police official said, just days ahead of Wednesday´s general elections.

The attack in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows a spate of bombings at political rallies before the election, the most devastating of which was a suicide attack this month that killed 149 people.

Sunday´s attack targeted the vehicle of Ikramullah Gandapur, a candidate of the PTI for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, two police officials told Reuters.

"Ikramullah Gandapur has been killed and we are conducting a post-mortem," said police official Zahoor Afridi.

Video images from the scene showed three bleeding and unconscious passengers inside a badly damaged black sports utility vehicle.

In 2013, Gandapur´s brother, Israrullah, who was then the provincial law minister, was martyred in a suicide attack on his home.

As political parties step up campaigning, attacks across Pakistan have stoked fears of more violence in a country of 208 million where political rallies can draw tens of thousands of spectators.

The blast comes days after Awami National Party leader Haroon Bilour was killed in an attack at a corner meeting.

In another incident, Mutthida Majlis Amal (MMA) candidate Akram Durrani was targeted in Bannu district of the during election campaign.

At least four people were killed in the attack while the candidate remained unhurt.