A long night: Three houses partially blown up in Hangu

Separately, a 5kg bomb was defused in Kohat.

HANGU/KOHAT: Militants targeted three houses in Hangu early Friday, destroying portions of the structures by detonating bombs near the premises. No loss of life has been reported.

Talking to journalists, Hangu DPO Anwar Saeed Kundi said the incidents occurred soon after midnight on Thal-Hangu Road and its surrounding areas.

The first blast occurred at 12:14am in Abbas Khel, Saddar, said Kundi. Unidentified militants planted an improvised explosive devise near the main gate of the house of Haji Abdul Latif, who owns Bangash Poultry Farm. The structure was damaged in the blast.

Militants also planted a bomb outside Piyao Khan’s house in Qazi Pump area outside the city. The boundary wall and gate were damaged in the explosion.

The third blast took place outside the house of Khanzada in Darsamand. According to DPO Kundi, a high-intensity bomb exploded, destroying parts of Khanzada’s house.

“Fortunately no loss of life was reported. Each bomb contained at least three kilogrammes of explosives,” said Kundi. “All three of them were detonated remotely.”

Separate cases were filed against unidentified militants, said the DPO. Further investigation is under way.

Meanwhile, a bomb planted by unidentified militants on a roadside in Lachi in the neighbouring district of Kohat was defused by the bomb disposal unit (BDU) on Friday.

Lachi police official Zafarullah Khan said unidentified militants planted a bomb at a roadside in Shahi Bhanda which was spotted by a pedestrian. The man informed the police after which the site was cordoned off by law-enforcement personnel and swept by the BDU.

The BDU managed to decommission the bomb which weighed five kilogrammes and was packed with high-intensity explosives.

A search operation was launched in the area afterwards, however, no one was arrested and a case was filed against unidentified militants.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2014.