A remote-controlled explosive device was planted on a bridge in the Mardan Tahthai area, killing three people and injuring seven others, police officials confirmed.
Sadar Superintendent of Police (SP) Khalid Khan said “unknown terrorists” are responsible for planting the device near Jalala Bridge.
The blast damaged a police vehicle and a rickshaw, killed three passengers and injured seven people, including two policemen.
After the blast, several police teams launched a search operation. Rescuers rushed the injured to Tehsil Takhtbay Headquarters while the injured policemen were taken to the Mardan Medical Complex.
Mardan district police officer Zahoor Barbar Afridi confirmed that the blast was controlled remotely.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the blast on social media platforms and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Engineer Amir Muqam also expressed condolences and condemned the incident.
The incident follows another attack earlier this week in Balochistan’s Kalat district, in which a security guard was killed and four others injured by an improvised explosive device (IED). The target vehicle is going to the Iskalku area to protect the oil and gas exploration field.
Pakistan has witnessed an increase in terror-related incidents, especially after the banned militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) suspended a ceasefire agreement with the government in November 2022 and targeted security personnel.
