Mardan blast death toll rises to 27

PESHAWAR: The death toll in the recent suicide bombing in Mardan rose to 27 when a 22-year old man succumbed to his injuries at the Lady Reading Hospital.

Samiullah was critically wounded in the explosion outside the office of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in Mardan on Thursday. He was shifted to Peshawar and was under treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital. His body was taken to Mardan for burial.

Five seriously wounded persons are still being treated in Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. Another 10 are under treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital Mardan and another 17 at the Mardan Medical Complex.

Those killed were mostly young applicants who had come to the Nadra office to seek computerized national identity cards. A child living nearby was also among those killed. Meanwhile, the security guard Pervez Khan, who grappled with the suicide bomber and stopped him from entering the Nadra office, has been recommended for a civil gallantry award.