1 police officer killed in bomb explosion in NW Pakistan

July 7, 2022

- 4 people, including 3 police officers and 1 civilian, wounded in blast near police station in Mardan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - At least one police officer was killed and four people, including three police officers and a civilian, were wounded in a bomb blast near a police station in northwestern Pakistan, an official said on Thursday.

According to the Rescue 1122 emergency department, the bomb exploded in front of the Chamtar police check post on the Nasata road in the Mardan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

"So far, one police officer has been killed and four others have been wounded that we have shifted to Mardan medical complex," Bilal Faizi, the spokesman of Rescue 1122 told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

Police have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation after the incident.

Mardan, the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is located around 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of the provincial capital Peshawar.

In March, at least 63 people were killed and nearly 200 injured when a suicide bomber targeted worshippers offering Friday prayers in a Shia mosque in Peshawar.

The latest attack has stoked fears of terrorism returning to Peshawar and other parts of the province, which after being a longtime hotbed of terrorism has been peaceful over the past several years amid improving security in the South Asian country.

On Wednesday, a Pakistani army soldier was also killed during an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district near the Afghan border.