Narrow escape: Nine injured in blast targeting police van

Bomb was attached at the back of a police mobile patrolling the area.

PESHAWAR:

Nine people were injured in a low-intensity bomb blast near Firdous Cinema on Jalil Kabibi Road Thursday morning.

A Hasthnagri police mobile was on routine patrol when a homemade bomb, magnetically attached by unidentified militants to the back of the vehicle, went off, said police officials.

Both the driver and the ASI on duty were not inside the vehicle at the time of the explosion and escaped unhurt. Nine bystanders, however, were injured during the early morning bustle while the police mobile was also damaged in the blast.

The injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and none are said to be in critical condition. They have been identified as Arshad, Shoaib, Muhammad Yahya, Marof, Abdul Qadir, Haya Khan, Riaz, Qaiser and Zabihullah.

According to the Bomb Disposal Squad, the explosives weighed 500 grammes.

A week earlier, a blast in the same locality destroyed three shops. There were no casualties as all the shops were closed at the time of the explosion.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2013.