Cop guarding anti-polio team dies in blast

PESHAWAR: A police constable was killed in twin blasts targeting polio vaccinators in Daudzai area here on Tuesday.

The second improvised explosive device (IED) went off when the bomb disposal unit expert was defusing it. However, he remained unharmed as he was wearing the protection gear.According to officials, the bomb was planted near a makeshift police post that
had been set up for the security of polio vaccinators in the area.

“Constable Nazir sustained injuries in the first blast. He was being taken to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, but he succumbed to his injuries on the way,” an official told The News.

He said the BDU teams and sniffer dogs were called to comb the area to find if another bomb was planted there. “Another bomb was found and was being defused when it went off. The BDU officer Zahid defusing it remained unharmed as he was wearing the
protection gear,” said an official.

Zahid believed someone from within the crowd triggered the bomb through a remote-control device. Other officials, however, said the bomb went off through a secret switch to trap the BDU men.

Each device that caused the two blasts contained five kilograms of explosives.The funeral prayer of the slain cop Mohammad Nazir was offered at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines in the city.Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Tahir, Peshawar Commissioner Fakhre Alam and other officials attended the funeral.