A suicide bomber targeted a police station located in Bannu, leaving eight people, including women, children and police officials injured in the wee hours of Tuesday, police said.
According to the police, the incident took place when a bomber driving an explosive-laden vehicle ripped through the Hovaid police station leaving eight people, including four cops, injured.
The explosion also damaged the police station while the windows of nearby buildings were also smashed.
The injured have been shifted to DHQ hospital while a heavy contingent of police surrounded the area following the incident.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed that the organisation was responsible for the blast and said the group was not involved in last week’s attack on pro-government and anti-US Taliban leader Mullah Nazir.
Speaking to private TV channel from an undisclosed location, Ehsan condemned the attack on Maullah Nazir and said he was part of the Ittehad-i-Shura Mujahideen, of which the TTP was also a member.
The TTP spokesman further said that though the TTP may have organisational differences with Mullah Nazir, there were no ideological differences between the groups.
The problem created in South Waziristan is a tribal feud between the Ahmedzai Wazir and Mehsud clans which would be settled as per tribal customs, said the spokesman for the banned outfit.
Ehsan claimed the TTP was not behind the blast that reportedly took place near the house of Kainat, one of the girls who was injured during the attack on Malala Yousufzai, the 14-year-old campaigner for girls’ education.
The attack was suspected to be a terrorist act according to certain reports in the media whereas Swat DPO Gul Afzal Khan Afridi had stated that the blast appeared to have been caused due to a gas leakage as initial investigation reports suggested that debris from the explosion flew outwards.
