Three khasadar personnel protecting polio workers injured in roadside blast

Suleman Khel peace militia chief succumbs to injuries sustained in Monday’s attack.

PESHAWAR:

Three khasadar personnel of Khyber Agency sustained injuries when a roadside bomb targeted their vehicle on Ring Road near Achini Thursday evening.

Pishtakhara police said around 18 khasadar force officials were in the vehicle en route from Akka Khel, Khyber Agency where they were providing security to polio vaccinators. Police added the explosion damaged the vehicle and injured three men identified as subaidar Sher Hassan, sepoy Afsar Mir and sepoy Khan Aslam.

The injured were shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) where their condition was said to be stable. The bomb disposal squad (BDS) was later called in to inspect the site of the explosion while the police diverted traffic to other routes.

This is the second attack on law enforcement officials providing cover to polio workers within a week. On Monday morning, a sub-inspector and a peace committee member were killed in a remote-controlled roadside blast in Garhi Mali Khel. Another 13 people were also injured in the attack. Among the injured was head of Suleman Khel peace militia, Muhammad Fida, who succumbed to his injuries on Thursday afternoon, taking the death toll to three.



Fida was critically injured in the blast and was being treated at Combined Military Hospital (CMH). He was the head of the peace militia since 2008 and had earlier survived a remote-controlled bomb blast as well as two other attacks at Garhi Mali Khel police post which he was responsible for manning.

Fida was initially taken to Lady Reading Hospital where doctors declared his condition stable. But after his pain did not subside, he was shifted to CMH where doctors found several shrapnel in his body. These shrapnel were removed, but excessive bleeding after the operation led to his demise.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2013.