DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The death toll in Dera Ismail Khan blast on Monday reached three as another victim succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate in PK-99 Sardar Ikramullah Gandapur embraced martyrdom while several injured as a blast hit his election rally in Dera Ismail Khan’s Kulachi area on Sunday.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a message sent to the media.
The bombing was the latest in a number of attacks targeting politicians campaigning ahead of the national polls on July 25.
Earlier, a suicide blast ripped through a crowd at a political rally in Mastung, killing 149 including younger brother of former Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) candidate, Nawabzada Siraj Raisani.
Separately, at least four people were killed and 39 injured when a bomb hidden inside a motorcycle detonated close to another politician’s convoy in Bannu, near the border with Afghanistan.
The politician—Akram Khan Durrani, a candidate of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) party—survived, police said. No group has yet claimed responsibility for that attack.
On Tuesday, a bomb claimed by the Taliban targeted a rally by the Awami National Party (ANP) in the city of Peshawar. Local ANP leader Haroon Bilour was among the 22 killed.
