PESHAWAR/ MARDAN - At least three persons were martyred and five others sustained injuries in a bomb blast near Jalala Bridge in the Takht Bhai tehsil of Mardan on Friday.
District Police Officer (DPO) Zahoor Babar Afridi told reporters that two people died and five others injured, including a police officer, woman and child. He said that the explosion took place immediately after a police vehicle passed over the bridge, in an attempt to target the police.
According to Rescue 1122, ambulances and medical teams promptly arrived at the scene and shifted the deceased and injured to local hospitals. The injured were shifted to the THQ Takht Bhai and Mardan Medical Complex for.
Police have started collecting evidence from the site and initiated an investigation into the incident.
A day earlier, five persons including a former senator lost their lives in a bomb attack n Bajaur tribal district.
The recent attacks have sent shock waves among local population as they witnessed terrorism resurgence after a period of calm and peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In Friday’s attack, an explosive device was planted near Jalala Bridge in Takht Bhai area. The deceased were identified as Sher Aslam and Sami-ur-Rehman, both hailing from Dir, and Waseem from Gujar Garhi area in Mardan. The victims were traveling in a rickshaw when the explosion occurred.
The seven injured were identified as constables Bilal and Gulab Saeed, Lubaba (10), Hashar Khan (7), Yousaf, Gul Jana, and Noor Jehan, wife of Muhammad Ayub.
District Police Officer (DPO) Zahoor Babar Afridi, along with other police officials and the bomb disposal unit, visited the blast scene.
Meanwhile, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Muhammad Khurasani released a statement to media persons, saying that they were not involved in Friday’s attack. “Our targets are clear. We have no involvement in today’s attack in Takhtbhai,” the statement added.
It merits a mention here that terrorist attacks witnessed a surge after the collapse of a peace deal between the TTP and government in the year in the year 2022.
However, many Taliban militants had already crossed the Afghan border and moved into their native areas in Pakistan during the ceasefire period during the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, giving them an edge to strengthen their positions against security forces.
The government has announced to launch a new military operation “Azm-e-Istehkam” in the province, which has been the topic of discussions in public circles nowadays. Some believe it may be intelligence-based raids as a full-scale operation may not be possible in the ongoing situation of financial crisis faced by the government, besides other issues.