Attack on police: Three killed in Mardan blast

MARDAN: At least three persons were killed and seven others, including two police constables, injured in a remote-controlled blast near Jalala Bridge in Takht Bhai tehsil of Mardan district, police officials said on Friday.

They said that an explosive device planted near the Jalala Bridge at Takht Bhai went off, killing three people identified as Sher Aslam, Sami-ur-Rehman, residents of Dir, and Waseem, a resident of Gujar

Garhi. The three slain persons were traveling in a rickshaw when the blast took place. Seven people were injured in the blast. The injured were identified as Constable Bilal, Constable Gulab Saeed, 10-year-old Lubaba, 7-year-old Hashar Khan, Yousaf, Gul Jana and Noor Jehan, wife of Muhammad Ayub.

The injured were taken to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Takht Bhai and Mardan Medical Complex in Mardan.

Sources said that ASP Hamid Khan was targeted in the blast, however, he escaped unhurt in the incident. The vehicle of ASP and a rickshaw were damaged in the blast.

District Police Officer (DPO) Zahoor Babar Afridi and other police officials and bomb disposal unit rushed to the spot soon after the incident. The police cordoned off the area and started a search operation.

The DPO told the media that the explosion happened immediately after a police vehicle passed over the bridge, suggesting that the police were the target.

It may be noted that several bomb blast and suicide attack incidents had occurred in Mardan in which several police officers, cops and

civilian were killed and injured during the militancy in the past.

In the past, suspected militants remained active in the district; however, the security forces along with police conducted several operations to curb militancy.