At least 10 killed in bomb attack on a passenger van in Pakistan

Peshawar, April 24 (Frontier Post): At least ten persons including five children were killed and several others injured in a blast in Godar area of Kurram Agency on Tuesday.

The officials of the political administration said the roadside remote controlled bomb targeted a passenger pickup with 23 persons on-board. The vehicle was on its way from Para Chamkani to Sadda area.

The injured were shifted to Agency Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar while three critically injured persons were moved to Peshawar for treatment. The passenger vehicle was completely destroyed in the attack. Preliminary details suggested that only one woman was killed in the attack, but the death toll soared after the injured succumbed to their injuries.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a special MI-17 helicopter was sent to Parachinar on the directives of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa to move the injured to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar. Security personnel rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the entire area. A search operation was also conducted. Meanwhile, the banned militant organization Tehreek-ul-Ahrar has claimed responsibility of the attack, sources said.

Strongly condemning the attack, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed deep grief over the loss of precious lives and prayed for the blessing of departed souls. The Prime Minister directed relevant authorities to extend maximum support for treatment of the injured. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also sought report of the incident.

Scores of people have been killed since the beginning of the year in a series of attacks. Earlier this month, at least six people were killed and 18 sustained injuries when a suicide attack targeted an army census in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. The spate of attacks has ratcheted up tensions with neighbouring Afghanistan, which some Pakistani officials accuse of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants.