At least eight people, including four children, were killed and more than two dozen others injured in a high-intensity bomb blast on Bannu Road in Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday morning.
The explosion occurred on the main road, a little distance away from an imam bargah, when mourners were making their way out of the facility in a procession to join the main 9th of Ashura procession.
Officials said a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a garbage dump besides the road that went off when the mourners passed by it.
Most of the victims were believed to be mourners from the surrounding areas who had arrived to join the 9th Muharram procession. Officials said three people were killed on the spot while five others succumbed to their injuries at a hospital. The deceased included four children.
Doctors at Divisional Headquarter Hospital confirmed receiving 30 injured, including a police constable and three children. Soon after the explosion, senior civil and police officials rushed to the site and supervised rescue activities. Contingents of military and paramilitary troops also joined the activities later.
Police later told reporters that the IED was packed in a pressure cooker and placed inside a garbage dump, adding that eight to 10 kilogrammes of explosives, nails and ball bearings were used to make the bomb. In a bid to maintain law and order on the eve of 9th and 10th of Muharram, the government had already announced a ban on pillion riding and suspended mobile and wireless telephone services. Security has been further tightened in Dera Ismail Khan following the bombing and all roads connecting the city with Punjab, FATA and the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been blocked for traffic.
On the other hand, the suspension of mobile phone services on Saturday across the country created grave problems for the citizens. In Punjab, the service remained suspended in 14 cities and towns, including Rawalpindi‚ Lahore‚ Multan‚ Sargodha‚ Attock‚ Jhang‚ Rahim Yar Khan‚ Faisalabad‚ Nankana Saheb‚ Bhakkar‚ Dera Ghazi Khan‚ Muzaffargarh‚ Pak Pattan and Gujranwala. In Balochistan the service was suspended in Quetta‚ Kalat‚ Kohlu‚ Dera Bugti‚ Khuzdar‚ Turbat‚ Mastung‚ Gawadar‚ Panjgur and Hub. Services of mobile phone remained suspended in Karachi‚ Hyderabad‚ Larkana‚ Khairpur and Noshera Feroze as well, while there was also no network coverage in Hangu‚ Kohat‚ Peshawar‚ Mardan‚ Charsadda‚ Nowshera‚ Dera Ismail Khan‚ Tank‚ Mansehra and Haripur and Parachinar in Kurram Agency. Various cities and towns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including Muzaffarabad‚ Rawalakot‚ Mirpur‚ Kotli and Neelum Valley, also stayed off air.
The simultaneous ban on pillion riding also proved troublesome for the people.
