Threat averted: Bomb on Taxila-bound van defused

ISLAMABAD:

An apparent terror plot was foiled on Tuesday evening when a bomb was found on a wagon at Sara-e-Kala Chowk in Taxila. 

The bomb was packed in a bag and placed in a Toyota Hiace plying between Rawalpindi and Taxila. The unattended bag caught the eye of some passengers, said a City Traffic Police (CTP) spokesman.

Passengers began panicking and quickly got off the vehicle when a passenger alerted the van conductor about the bag. The conductor informed two traffic wardens stationed nearby about the presence of a suspicious bag in the wagon, the spokesman said.

The spokesman added that the wardens rushed to the vehicle and found the bomb in the bag.

A Rawalpindi police spokesperson said the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) safely defused the bomb, while a search operation was immediately ordered in the surrounding areas.

A BDS official said that the bomb contained 200 grams of explosives and could have led to a high number of fatalities if it exploded in a packed public place or on the vehicle.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2014.