A paramilitary soldier was killed and seven others, including two civilians, were injured in a blast targeting a security forces vehicle in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday, officials said.
The incident occurred on Warsak Road in the city, when a vehicle carrying paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers was passing by, according to eyewitnesses.
Police and rescue teams immediately reached the site and shifted the wounded to a hospital.
“An FC man died, while seven others, including two civilians, were injured in the blast,” Machini Gate police station in-charge, Farman Khan, told Arab News.
The nature of the blast could not be immediately confirmed, but the FC vehicle was the target, he said.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for the Rescue 1122 service, confirmed the wounded included five soldiers and two civilians, who were being treated for injuries.
The explosion comes two days after seven militants were killed in a gunbattle in Pakistan’s northwestern Chitral district, a statement from the military’s media wing said. This was the second skirmish to take place between the military and militants in the district within a week.
Pakistan has been witnessing a surge in militant attacks in its northwestern and southwestern regions that border Afghanistan. The attacks increased particularly after the Pakistan Taliban called off their fragile truce with the government in November last year.
In January, more than 80 people were killed when a suicide bomber struck a mosque in a heavily fortified police compound in Peshawar.
Up to 350 worshipers were gathered for afternoon prayers when the bomber blew himself up, according to the police.