Search operation: IED targets police patrol in DI Khan

Seven policemen among 17 injured in roadside blast

DI KHAN: Seven policemen were among 17 people injured on Wednesday when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by the roadside went off in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) DI Khan district.

According to a police official, the blast occurred when a police van of DI Khan’s Cantt police station was crossing the spot located close to Bannu Adda, the bus terminal at the Eastern Circular Road of the district. The Associated Press of Pakistan said the police team was patrolling when an IED planted at the roadside exploded during rush hours in the morning.



Locals said the blast was so intense that it was heard from many miles away. As a result of the explosion, ten passers-by including a woman as well as seven policemen were injured. Apart from the police van, other vehicles including a number of cars and bikes were mangled by the blast.

According to APP, the injured were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) where their condition was stated to be stable. However, a security guard, working at Gomal University, was injured seriously in the attack.

Soon after the blast, army troops, police and the Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) reached the site and cordoned off the area for carrying out investigation.

The law enforcement agencies and security forces also mounted a search operation. However, no arrest of suspected persons was reported till filing of the report.

BDU officials later said about 5kg of explosives was used in the IED which was a remote-control device. Investigation into the incident was under way while the district was put on high alert. (WITH INPUT FROM APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2017.