PESHAWAR- At least three persons including a woman and a security official were killed and 13 others sustained injuries in a blast targeting a convoy of the Frontier Corps (FC) carrying a high-ranking military official today.

Talking to media persons CCPO Peshawar Ijaz Khan said that, Brigadier Khalid Javed who was the target of the attack narrowly escaped the explosion and remained unhurt and safe.

He said that three people including a woman, an FC man and a passerby were killed in the blast. He added that 13 people, including security personnel were injured in the explosion on Saddar Road caused by a car bomb.
"The car was an Alto vehicle and was moving, we have found traces of explosives, the amount of explosives hasn't been ascertained so far," CCPO said. "It seems like the blowback of operation Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan has started," he added.

According to a military official, Brigadier Khaled Javed hails from Wah and is the Deputy Inspector General of the Frontier Corps. His house in Peshawar is located on Kohat Road, a busy part of the city and is easy to access. Javed and some other senior military officials later also visited the site of the explosion that took place near an office of the PTCL and the railway station.

The deceased and injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar and Hospital administration confirmed the deaths saying those killed included a woman, a young man and an FC official. Two among the injured were security personnel, administration said, adding that three of the injured were in a critical condition. An unspecified number of injured were also taken to the Civil Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar.

AIG bomb disposal squad Shafqat Malik said 45 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. He said mortar shells were also put in with the explosives to increase the impact of the blast. Gunfire was also reported from the area and windows of nearby buildings were shattered with the location subsequently cordoned off by security forces. Moreover, the site was strewn with parts of vehicles, including a car, a rickshaw and a motorcycle.

No one claimed responsibility for the explosion but suspicion falls on the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or members of the Jamaatul Ahrar, a TTP splinter group - both are based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) where the region of North Waziristan is the scene of a military
operation against foreign and local militants. Speaking to media representatives near the location of the blast, KP Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani said evidence was being collected from the area.

Ghani added that the government would prepare a preliminary report on the explosion and get to the bottom of the incident.

Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and other political leaders have strongly condemned the suicide blast. President Mamnoon expressed condolences on the demise of innocent people and ordered the officials to provide best possible treatment to the injured.

The PM has expressed his grief and sorrow over loss of lives and reiterated his government's commitment to bring the terrorists to book. "The nation stands by security forces in the war against terrorism," he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran khan has condemned the suicide explosion. In a statement, Khan urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to provide medical facilities to the persons injured in the explosion. "Strongly condemn Peshawar blast. Provincial government must provide all
required medical facilities to the injured & support to victims' families," he posted this message on twitter.

Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, KPK Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani, PTI leader Shaukat Yousufzai, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Siraj-ul-Haq, ANP leader Zahid Khan and others have also  condemned the attack.