PESHAWAR: At least nine people, including two bomb disposal officers, were killed Monday in two separate explosions in restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Station House Officer (SHO) Doaba police station Rahim Khan said a suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle into the vehicle of a tribal elder in KP’s Hangu district, killing seven people.

Ten other people were also wounded in the blast near a bus stand in Hangu's Doaba tehsil.

The explosion also destroyed seven other vehicles.

The injured and the dead were shifted to a local hospital as law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and launched their investigation.

Sources said local tribal elder Malik Habibullah Khan was the intended target of the blast.

News agency AFP quoted local police chief Sajjad Khan as saying that Malik Habibullah was not in the car when the bomb exploded.

No militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, at least two bomb disposal officers were killed while attempting to defuse a bomb in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district.

District Police Officer Dr Mian Muhammad Saeed said that six bombs were planted to target a government school in Jamalabad area of Swabi.

The bomb disposal unit officials were defusing the road-side bombs when one of the devices exploded, killing both officers on the spot.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.