At least two individuals died and five others, including a police officer, a woman, and a child, sustained injuries in an explosion near Jalala Bridge in the Takht Bhai tehsil of Mardan city, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to rescue officials on Friday.
Mardan District Police Officer Zahoor Babar Afridi indicated that the explosion occurred immediately after a police vehicle crossed the bridge, suggesting it was targeted at law enforcement.
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Rescue 1122 sources reported that ambulances and medical teams swiftly responded, transporting the deceased and injured to local hospitals, including THQ Takht Bhai and MMC, for treatment and identification.
Police have started gathering evidence from the site and launched an investigation into the incident.
In a separate incident on Thursday, amid a resurgence of terrorist violence in K-P province, a former senator and four companions were killed in a roadside explosion attack on their vehicle in Mamund tehsil, Bajaur district.
The outlawed TTP denied involvement in the IED attack on Hidayatullah Khan, brother of former K-P governor Shaukatullah Khan and son of ex-MNA Haji Bismillah Khan, in Damadola area, Mamund. Hidayatullah was also the uncle of Najeebullah Khan, an independent candidate for the upcoming by-poll for PK-22 Bajaur-IV.
The victims’ bodies were taken to District Headquarters Hospital in Khar, where Dr. Naseeb Gul confirmed their identities as Hidayatullah Khan, Malik Irfan, Nazar Din, Yar Muhammad, and Samiullah, before being handed over to their families after legal procedures.
