Four injured in explosion targeting CTD vehicle in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: At least three officials of the counter-terrorism department (CTD) and one passer-by were injured in a blast targeting their vehicle early Monday morning, when they were en route to a girls school where an improvised explosive device had exploded earlier.

The CTD vehicle was targeted near Khatko Pul. The injured were moved to Lady Reading Hospital for treatment.

Earlier today, an IED went off outside a girls primary school in Urmar area on Shamshato Road. According to police, two IEDs were found installed outside the school, out of which one exploded while the other was defused by the Bomb Disposal Squad.

The school gate was damaged in the explosion.

According to reports, the CTD personnel were going to the site of the explosion when their vehicle was targeted near Khatko Pul, leaving three officials injured and the vehicle damaged. 

The injured personnel were identified as Akbar Ali, Israr and Nizar, while the passer-by's name is Wali-ur-Rehman, according to hospital sources. 

Peshawar has time and again been a target of suicide bombings. 

In February, a suicide bomber targeted a van carrying civil judges in the city's Hayatabad area, killing the driver and injuring 18 others, hospital and police officials had said.

According to police, the suicide bomber had rammed his motorcycle into the government vehicle, causing an explosion near the Hayatabad Medical Complex.