Two cops among seven martyred in Lakki Marwat blast

PESHAWAR: At least seven people including two police officials were martyred and more than 20 others injured in a blast in a crowded market in district Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said on Tuesday.

The explosion occurred near the Naurang railway crossing in the Serai Naurang area of Lakki Marwat district, police said.

A spokesperson for the Lakki Marwat district police said the nature of the blast was not yet clear and investigators were determining whether explosives had been planted in a loader rickshaw parked in the area or whether it was a suicide attack.

“The Bomb Disposal Squad is working to ascertain the nature of the explosion,” police spokesperson Qudratullah Khan said in a statement.

The deceased police officials were identified as traffic wardens Adil Jan and Rahatullah. Police said that more than 20 people including a woman and a teenage girl were injured in the blast .

Hospital officials said that an emergency had been declared at the Serai Naurang hospital, while several of the injured were shifted to hospitals in nearby Bannu for treatment.

Videos circulating on social media showed damaged shops and destroyed three-wheelers at the site of the blast.

Police cordoned off the area and launched an investigation, while rescue teams transported the dead and injured to hospitals.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the attack and sought a report from the provincial police chief. He directed the authorities concerned to provide the best possible medical treatment to the injured and support to the families of the victims.

The blast comes days after at least 15 police personnel were martyred in a suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post in Bannu district.