Four killed in second blast of the week in Mattani

Police say that the villagers of Kalakhel were being targeted by the Taliban for raising a lashkar against them.

PESHAWAR:

At least four people were killed and three others were injured when a remote-controlled bomb targeted a public transport vehicle on the outskirts of Peshawar on Thursday, the police and locals said.

The blast took place in the Mattani area – known to be a volatile locality some 25 kilometres south of the city – close to the border of semi-tribal Darra Adamkhel tribal region.

Deputy Superintendent of the police (DSP) Rural Circle Sajjad Khan told The Express Tribune that the blast took place close to Mattani Bazaar, near a pickup vehicle carrying commuters and their belongings to the Kalakhel area in Frontier Region (FR) Peshawar.

The official said that a remote-controlled device, which was planted amid garbage, detonated as the pickup was passing through the area.

Sajjad said that four passengers were killed and three others were injured. “The vehicle was being used for public transport and was loaded with firewood, besides passengers,” he said.

A Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) official told The Express Tribune that the bomb weighed around four kilogrammes and was packed in a pressure cooker. Steel pellets were also used to increase its destructiveness,” the official added.

Mujhaid, an eyewitness, told The Express Tribune that there were around six to eight passengers in the pickup and the blast hit the vehicle just after it crossed the Mattani Bazaar. “It was a huge blast and I was not able to comprehend what happened right after it occurred,” he said.

Akhtar Zada, another local from the Kalakhel area, said that the attack, the second in the Kalakhel village this week, has caused an increased sense of worry and panic among locals.

On Monday, four to five people were killed when a timed device went off inside a Kalakhel-bound pickup at a bus stand in the Mattani area.

A police source told The Express Tribune that the villagers were being targeted by Taliban militants for raising a lashkar against them. “It was a pressure tactic to terrorize these villagers,” the official said.

The source said that sometime back, the people of Kalakhel had raised a lashkar against militants, set-up check points and held patrols in the area, making militant movement in the area difficult.

The militants were bent on breaking the locals’ resolve, the source said.

The Kalakhel area is located close to the border of the Khyber Agency and the Darra Adamkhel region and is part of the FR Peshawar.

Rescue sources identified those killed in the blast as Noor Rehman, and Aslam Khan, while the identity of the other two could not be established.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2011.