Suicide attack foiled in Pak; 15 injured

Pakistani police on Monday averted a suicide attack in the country's restive northwest while three militants were gunned down in a clash in Swat district, security officials said.

Pakistani police on Monday averted a suicide attack in the country's restive northwest while three militants were gunned down in a clash in Swat district, security officials said.

HT Image

An explosives-laden vehicle blew up when police fired at it in Lakki Marwat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province this morning. The would-be suicide bomber was killed and 15 people were injured.

Following reports that a suicide bomber in a pick-up truck would target key installations in Lakki Marwat, police were put on alert this morning. They set up road blocks and began checking all vehicles.

When a pick-up truck did not stop at a road block, policemen opened fire at it. The vehicle blew up, killing the would-be bomber and destroying six houses.

Eight women and four children were among the 15 people injured by the rubble. The blast created a four-foot-deep crater. Security forces cordoned off the area and closed key roads.

In a separate development, three militants were killed in a gun battle with security forces at Shagai in Matta sub-division of Swat district.

The members of a local defence committee had pointed out the militants to the security forces, security officials said.

Three AK-47s and five grenades were found in the possession of the dead militants, they said.