LAKKI MARWAT - An explosive-laden motorcar exploded near the newly built Khan Abdul Wali Khan Bridge in Kot Kashmir area, killing five people aboard believed to be militants. A TV report said the dead were TDPs travelling from Waziristan to Lakki Marwat.

“The blast which was heard in the entire rural area adjacent to frontier tribal region triggered panic among local residents,” said a police official. Referring to initial information, he said the vehicle had entered the district from adjacent tribal region, apparently to carry out subversive act, but it is not yet known what the specific target was.

According to local people, Khan Abdul Wali Khan Bridge connects dozens of villages of frontier tribal regions of Lakki Marwat and Bannu to Kot Kashmir and other settled parts of the district.

“The newly built bridge, inaugurated by former female MPA of Awami National Party, Yasmeen Zia, a few weeks ago, is also a recreational point for local residents, especially youth,” they maintained, saying villagers in a large number visit the bridge daily for recreation. They said the deafening blast also frightened the area people. Police and security personnel rushed to the site of explosion, surrounded the place and launched a search operation to clear the area of explosives, if any.

The police official said the explosives had been packed in the car. “Bomb disposal squad experts were called in while police investigators collected evidence from the site,” said the official. He said the five people on board believed to be militants were killed in the blast.

“The car was completely destroyed and the body parts got scattered around the site of the explosion,” he said. Security was beefed up in the entire district in Kot Kashmir. “Police have been directed to tighten checking at exit and entry points,” he said.

AFP adds from Peshawar: “All the bodies are beyond recognition and it is difficult to ascertain their identity,” District Police Officer Ali Akbar said. The police officer added it was still unclear whether explosives were being carried in the vehicle or somebody had planted a bomb underneath the car.

“However, we are investigating to get to the bottom of the incident,” Akbar said.

Another senior local police official, Shahid Hameed, confirmed the incident and casualties.

South Waziristan is one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal regions where the Pakistan Army has been battling Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Pakistan’s insurgency began after the US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan in 2001, which led to a spillover of militants across the border and a surge in recruitment for extremist groups.

Pakistan Army launched operation Zarb-e-Azb under the US pressure in 2014 in a bid to wipe out militant bases in the North Waziristan tribal area and bring an end to the decade-long insurgency that has cost Pakistan thousands of lives.

Thursday’s incident comes days after a Taliban suicide bomber, targeting Christians on Easter, killed at least 72 people, including many children, in a park crowded with families in the eastern city of Lahore.