Peshawar [Pakistan], April 2 : At least nine individuals, including four police personnel, sustained injuries following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Serai Naurang town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Lakki Marwat district, Dawn reported.
The incident, which took place on Wednesday, occurred on the high-traffic Bannu-DI Khan Road in the vicinity of a local fruit and vegetable market.
District police spokesperson Qudratullah Khan told Dawn that the "attackers targeted a police patrol party" belonging to the Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Khattak police station.
Detailing the mechanics of the assault, the spokesperson noted that "terrorists had fitted an IED to a motorcycle" specifically to strike the police vehicle as it transited through the congested urban locality.
The explosion caused significant damage to the police van and impacted several civilian shops and stationary vehicles nearby.
According to the report by Dawn, the blast was powerful enough to damage a power transmission line in the area.
Among the nine casualties were four law enforcement officers and five civilians, including three minors and two elderly men.
Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan visited the wounded at the hospital, ensuring they received the "best possible medical treatment."
He emphasised that "such cowardly acts by terrorists would not shatter the resolve of the police force," further asserting that the authorities remain "fully prepared and committed to foil the nefarious plans of the enemies of peace."
This latest act of violence follows a grim trend in the region. As noted by Dawn, the explosion came roughly a fortnight after a similar IED strike in the Bettani subdivision of Lakki Marwat claimed the lives of seven personnel.
In that previous instance, a squad on "routine patrol" was targeted, resulting in the martyrdom of a station house officer and several constables.
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