MMA candidate among 8 injured in Bannu blast

BANNU: Eight persons, including a Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) candidate for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly constituency PK-89, were injured in a roadside blast in the Bakkakhel area on Saturday.

The MMA candidate Malik Shireen, affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), was on the way to attend a public gathering when his vehicle was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Ghora Bakkakhel.

As a result of the explosion, Malik Shireen, Hazrat Ali, Sher Aamal, Hukamzad, Habibullah and FC personnel Zar Muhammad, Sherza Rizwan and Rehmatullah were injured. The injured were rushed to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Bannu by the local people.

Later, the police reached the site of the blast, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, but no arrests were made. The sources said the explosive device was planted on a motorcycle parked on the roadside.