PESHAWAR - At least six persons were killed and 11 others, including two children, injured in a bomb blast inside a car repair shop in the Scheme Chowk area in the jurisdiction of Badhabera police station on Thursday.
Sources said the explosive material had been planted inside a car parked in the workshop two days back on the pretext of repair. On the day of the incident, it exploded with a big bang. The intensity of the blast was so high that it jolted the entire area and badly damaged several vehicles parked near the workshop for repair. Human flesh, parts of bodies and blood stains were visible at the blast site. At least six persons were killed and 11 others injured, seven of them, seriously.
Soon after the incident, Rescue 1122 and Edhi ambulances rushed to the site and shifted the injured to Lady Reading Hospital for emergency medical treatment. The doctors in the casualty ward of the hospital declared that three persons were in a serious condition.
Police and Bomb Disposal Squad cordoned off the area and collected evidences from the site. According to the police, around 29kg explosive placed inside a car in a workshop was used in the attack.
One of the workers of the workshop said one Ghani Khan had parked the car on the pretext of getting it repaired two days ago. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced compensation of Rs 500,000 for each dead and Rs 200,000 for each injured.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Parvez Khattak, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and KPK President Azam Swati strongly condemned the blast and expressed their sympathies with the victims’ families. Governor Engineer Shaukatullah also denounced the incident and termed it a barbaric act of terrorism. He also offered heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
Separately, the police averted a major sabotage bid by defusing a 5kg explosive device on Charsadda Road here Thursday. The explosive device had been planted under the newly constructed Mufti Mahmood flyover in Bacha Khan Square, Charsadda Road. It had been placed in a tin of oil and attached to a time device. Before the bomb disposal process, the people were asked to vacate the area.
Reportedly, the Peshawar Bomb Disposal Squad is facing acute shortage of senior officers as several experts of the department have been killed while defusing bombs.
AFP adds: Shahidullah, 40, who owns a nearby drinks shop said he was chatting with a friend outside his shop when the blast occurred. “There was a loud bang and I saw huge flames coming out of the motor workshop and then I fell to the ground,” he said.