Landi Kotal: 3 killed in Khyber car blast

LANDI KOTAL: Three persons including two Levies personnel were killed and eight civilians were injured when a powerful car bomb exploded in Landi Kotal Bazaar of Khyber Agency on Tuesday.

Officials said that explosives fitted in a car were detonated with a remote controlled device when a number of Levies and Khasadar personnel and civilians were present in Bacha Khan Chowk at around midday.

The explosion caused death to two Levies personnel and a shopkeeper on the spot. The killed were identified as Gulzar and Roza Khan, both Levies personnel, and Mohammad Ikram a cloth merchant.

Local militant group Abdullah Ezzam Brigade claimed responsibility for the blast and said that their target was the Khasadar and Levies personnel posted at the square.

The group threatened to carry out more attacks against security forces. The security forces recently conducted operation in Karamna, Landi Kotal, in which 12 militants including four would-be suicide bombers were killed.

The eight injured were admitted to a local hospital where doctors said their condition was stable. The local administration said that it would bear treatment cost of the injured.

In Kurram Agency, One passenger was injured in a roadside bomb blast on Tuesday, officials said.

The passenger coach, going from Parachinar to Peshawar, was damaged when a remote controlled device went off at Pir Qayum village near Sadda Town. A women passenger received injuries in the blast while others remained unhurt.

The Thall-Parachinar Road was recently reopened for traffic after restoration of peace in the area. Local people condemned the blast and demanded of the government to take action against the perpetrators.

In Mohmand Agency, militants blew up a government primary school for boys in Safi tehsil on the night between Monday and Tuesday.

Officials said that the two-room school in Gurbaz Gagezai area of Safi tehisl was completely destroyed in the blast. The explosion also shattered windowpanes of several houses in the area.

A spokesman for Mohmand Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a subsequent operation, the political administration arrested six tribesmen, including Malik Attaullah and his two sons, on suspicion of their involvement in the crime.

In Nowshera, unidentified terrorists blew up a pylon on Tarbela-Peshawar transmission line at Baba Ji Kallay on the night between Monday and Tuesday.

Police said that the pylon was blown up when four huge explosions were heard in the locality, creating panic among people.

The original article can be found at Dawn News.

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