Blast outside hotel near Peshawar, no casualties reported

Homemade hand grenade thrown at hotel located near Kohat bus stop, wall damaged.

PESHAWAR: A homemade explosive device damaged the boundary wall of a local hotel located near Kohat bus stop on the outskirts of Peshawar on Friday.

Police said that a homemade grenade had been thrown at Grace Hotel. The grenade had damaged the building, but no loss of life was reported.

The explosion caused panic as it was heard miles away.

Local shopkeepers got hold of a suspect who was running away from the scene of the blast and handed him over to the police. The suspect was severally tortured before he was handed over.

There are reports that militants had been demanding money from the owner of the hotel, but there is no confirmation of this.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Station House Office (SHO) Granullah said that a “grenade-type” bomb had been hurled at the hotel building, but there had been no loss of life. “Yes the shop keepers have arrested a man who has been beaten severally and he is in our custody. We are interrogating him,” he explained, adding that he could be a terrorist who hurled the bomb or any passerby who was running for life after the explosion.