Two killed as blast rips through Peshawar's Board Bazar

• Police confirm it was not a suicide blast. 
• Blast took place during transfer of explosives. 
• Two of three people killed while transferring. 

PESHAWAR: Two people were killed while another sustained injuries in a blast on Peshawar's Board Bazar road, police officials confirmed on Sunday morning.

Speaking to Geo News, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Kashif Aftab Abbasi said that the bomb disposal unit's (BDU) report revealed that it was not a suicide blast. 

"An explosion took place during the transfer of explosives. Three people were transporting the explosives of which two of them were killed in the blast and one of them sustained injuries," he said. 

The injured person, who is in a very critical condition, is being treated at Khyber Teaching Hospital, said spokesperson Sajjad Khan. 

The bodies have also been moved to the hospital.

Officials of the counter-terrorism department (CTD) and rescue teams are also present to collect evidence. An investigation into the incident is taking place and the police has cordoned off the area.

Board Bazar is a busy road in Peshawar where usually there is heavy traffic. However, at the time of the blast, the traffic was slow.

Earlier, SSP Abbasi said that explosives on a motorcycle were detonated this morning in Nasir Bagh. 

"We have also recovered a mutilated body and our bomb disposal unit is investigating the area. We are trying to ascertain if it was a suicide blast or the bomb was planted on a motorcycle," he added. 

Preliminary report 

The police prepared the preliminary report on the blast, according to which, the dead and injured are terrorists and no citizen was harmed. 

The terrorists have been identified and they belonged to Peshawar, said the police, adding that they were wanted by the CTD. 

They said that mobile phones and other things were recovered from the militants. 

According to the CTD report, the three terrorists were heading towards their target with five kilograms of explosives. 

One of the terrorists has been identified as Salman who was residing in Tehkal Bala area. The second terrorist has been identified as Amir while the third one, who was injured, has been identified as Usman, said the report. 

Condemnations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the "terrorist attack" and offered his condolences to the families.

He issued directives to provide all possible medical assistance to the injured. He said that he was determined to eradicate terrorism.

Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the incident and asked the inspector general (IG) to provide a report. 

Peshawar most affected by terrorism

According to the statistics issued by the Department of Interior and Tribal Affairs KP, the areas most affected by terrorism include Peshawar, Khyber, Bajaur and Tank while Dera Ismail Khan and North Waziristan and South Waziristan are included in the terror-affected areas.

The documents of the Home and Tribal areas revealed that a total of 1,050 incidents of terrorism took place in KP last year while 419 incidents of terrorism took place in the arranged districts, 631 incidents in the merged districts.

A total of 61 incidents of terrorism took place in Peshawar last year and the highest 201 incidents of terrorism occurred in North Waziristan besides 169 incidents took place in Khyber, 121 in South Waziristan, 98 in Dera Ismail Khan, 62 in Bajaur and 61 in Tank respectively.

During these incidents of terrorism, 470 security personnel and civilians have been martyrs in KP alone the previous year, including 106 security personnel in Peshawar with 4 security personnel killed in the Bajaur incident, 28 in Khyber, 36 in North Waziristan and 29 in South Waziristan, the document revealed.