Soldier killed, Nazim among five injured in Swat blasts

MINGORA: A soldier was killed and five other persons sustained injuries in two roadside blasts in Kalam Valley in Swat district on Friday, sources said. The injured included a tehsil nazim, two soldiers of Pakistan Army and as many civilians. The sources said the first blast was triggered by a remote-controlled bomb planted on a link bridge in Atror in Kalam. The militants, the sources said, targeted the vehicle of Syed Salar Bacha, the tehsil nazim of Gagra Buner belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), when he was crossing the bridge. As a result, Syed Salar Bacha and his two companions Shahzad Bacha and Immad Khan sustained injuries. The security forces rushed to the blast site, but their convoy was hit by another improvised explosive device (IED), killing a soldier and wounding two others.  The vehicles of the tehsil nazim and security forces were also damaged in the attacks. The security forces clamped a curfew in Atror soon after the blasts and started a door-to-door search operation. The Kalam-Mingora Road was also closed to traffic. It was learnt that several suspected persons were arrested in the search operation.  The police lodged a case and started an investigation. Meanwhile, Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra condemned the bomb attacks on security forces in Swat and expressed shock over the loss of precious lives. In a statement, he expressed sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of injured.  He termed the attacks cowardly acts by terrorists, adding that the sacrifices of the security forces would not go in vain.