Explosion near Nawarkhel Mor comes amid rising militant attacks in southern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
One factory employee was killed and eight others were injured on Monday when an explosive device hit a vehicle belonging to a private cement factory near Nawarkhel Mor on Begukhel Road in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, police said.
Several of the injured were shifted to Lakki City Hospital, where an emergency was imposed. Medical Superintendent Dr Kifayatullah said the injured include two women and that the condition of two people, including one woman, is critical.
Police said most of the passengers on the bus were private civilians. The vehicle was travelling from Begukhel to Lakki Marwat and was then scheduled to proceed to the private cement factory.
Read: Four police officers killed in two attacks in Bannu
According to police, unknown assailants targeted the bus with explosive material, completely destroying it in the blast. Rescue 1122 teams from Lakki Marwat were dispatched to the scene.
In a separate incident in Abbasa Khattak, unidentified individuals used explosives to blow up a solar-powered tube well belonging to Humayun Khan, a prominent member of a local peace committee. The explosion caused partial damage to the tube well and a nearby house, police said.
Separately, rescue officials said a locally made improvised explosive device also detonated near Nawarkhel Mor in Lakki Marwat, targeting another bus belonging to a private cement factory.
The incidents come amid a surge in violence in the district. Last week, Assistant Sub Inspector Mumtaz Ali was shot dead by unidentified attackers in Lakki Marwat, police said. In another incident, a police constable who had earlier been reported abducted from the Tank area was later found dead, officials said.
Also read: KP violence kills two policemen in Lakki Marwat, Tank
Police said four armed men intercepted a pickup vehicle near Adda Wanda Jogi in the Ghazni Khel area, forced ASI Mumtaz Ali out of the vehicle and opened fire, killing him on the spot.
According to security assessments cited in earlier reporting by The Express Tribune, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa recorded more than 1,500 terrorism-related incidents over the past year. More than 130 police officers and personnel were killed in attacks on patrols, convoys and off-duty officials during the period.
Districts including Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and Tank were among the most affected.
