PESHAWAR, Dec 16 — A roadside remote-controlled bomb blast in Peshawar Monday killed three personnel of the bomb disposal unit (BDU) who were on their way to defuse another bomb elsewhere in the city, DawnNews reported.
Police officer Shahid Khan says the attack took place in the Sheikh Mohammadi area of Badhber and targeted the vehicle of the BDU.
Three personnel — BDU in-charge and sub-inspector Abdul Haq, constable Imtiaz and the driver of the vehicle Kashif — were killed in the blast.
Two people, including BDU official Aminul Haq and a pedestrian, were injured in the explosion.
The injured persons were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital. According to the hospital administration, Aminul Haq’s condition was critical.
Shafqat Malik, bomb disposal chief for the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, praised Haq as one of his best and most professional operatives.
“We are losing our best officers. More than 10 officers of BDS (bomb disposal squad) have lost their lives while serving their motherland,” Malik said.
Haq was made bomb disposal chief for Peshawar after his predecessor Hukam Khan was killed while defusing two bombs in the same area in September 2012.
Police and other security personnel have cordoned off the Sheikh Mohammadi area and another bomb, containing four kilograms of explosive materials, was defused after a search operation that identified it went underway.
Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, lies on the edge of Pakistan’s tribal areas which have been labelled by Washington as the main sanctuary for Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the country.
The city has seen frequent attacks by militants in the past few years, with targets ranging from civilians to policemen and other law enforcement personnel.–Dawn
