KOHAT Troops foiled a suicide attack on a vital road tunnel in the north-western town of Kohat on Friday, firing on a speeding vehicle that exploded. As a result of the attack, two persons were killed and 29 others injured including security personnel.

Paramilitary troops guarding the Kohat Tunnel shot at the car after its driver ignored signals to stop, said a local police official.

Flying debris from the subsequent blast wounded 20 people, most of them troops but also several civilians, the official said. The Kohat Tunnel links the regional capital of Peshawar with garrison towns on the edge of tribal regions.

Troops are posted at both ends of the tunnel and check every vehicle seeking to pass through out of concern militants could use a bomb to block it.

A government official in Kohat, said security forces arrested a local Taliban commander named Mohammed Ajmal and three of his associates at the tunnel on Thursday.

'It seems the militants are angered over these arrests, and they wanted to avenge it by targeting security forces,' he said.

However, according to APP reports, the suspected suicide bomber blew up his explosive laden car when it reached close to the Kohat Tunnel.

Soon after the explosion, the management of Kohat Tunnel closed down the tunnel for traffic and security has been tightened.

The injured have been shifted to KDA and CMH hospitals for treatment.