Seven killed, 11 injured in Peshawar bus bombing

Bus driver suspects bomb was placed in a bag which was left behind by a passenger at Bazid Khel stop

At least seven people were killed and 11 others injured on Thursday in an explosion in a passenger coach in Peshawar’s Bazid Khel area on Kohat Road.

Some of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

The driver of the vehicle, Shahidur Rehman said that they were heading towards Upper Kurram Agency from Peshawar and a man with an old bag was sitting at the back seat.

“The man got off the vehicle at Bazid Khel stop to get his relatives and as he stepped out, the explosion occurred,” he said.

Earlier, Rescue 1122 officials had said that the CNG cylinder fitted in the bus had exploded. Police later said the van was hit by a bomb.

Additional Inspector General (AIG) Bomb Disposal Squad Shafqat Malik said that five kilogrammes of explosives were used in the blast.

The explosion came hours after an attack in the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killing Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Asif Mehmood near the Yakatoot police station.

Thursday’s attacks come days after a suicide blast targeted high-ranking military official Brigadier Khalid Bajwa in Peshawar. Javed narrowly escaped the explosion which was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).