MARDAN - At least 11 people including two traffic police cops got injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast at Shaheedano Bazzar at Toru chowk in the limits of Hoti police station on Tuesday early in the morning.
According to local police, a remote- controlled device planted outside a shop at Shaheedano bazzar Toru chowk went off at about 8am.
As a result 11 civilians including two traffic constables identified as Gul Karim and Abubakar who were performing duty at the spot got injured while the civilians were identified as Baz Mohammad, Abubakar, Farman Ali, Zafar, Yahya, Sher Wali, Mohammad Jamal, Asad and Shahid Mohammad.
The injured were shifted to district headquarter (DHQ) hospital where their condition is stated to be stable. District Police Officer (DPO) Fasial Shahzad said that some 700 to 800 grams of explosive material was used in the blast.
He added that the traffic police was the target. However, they remained safe in the attack. Following the explosion, police cordoned off the area while personnel of the Bomb Disposal Unit collected the pieces of evidence from the scene.
Police also started search operation in the surrounding areas but no one was arrested till filling this report.
Earlier in December 2015 an office of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) located at Dwasaro chowk in the limits of City police station was targeted by a suicide bomber, as many as 25 people were killed and 54 injured in that suicide attack. In April 2016, the office of Excise and Taxation located at Mall road in the limits of same police station was targeted by suicide bomber in which 16 people got injured.
In May 2016 a suicide bomber targeted a police mobile at Kachari Chowk in the limits of same police station; as many as 15 people including four police constables got injured.
In June 2016 two traffic police traffic cops were injured in remote-controlled bomb blast at Akbar Patak (Railway PattaK) in the limits of same police station few meters from the former Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti house.
It is to be noted that from the last few weeks militants have accelerated their activities in the city areas.