PESHAWAR/LANDI KOTAL: Only two days after the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan refused to extend its ceasefire, a military convoy was attacked in the suburbs of Peshawar and a large stockpile of arms and ammunition was destroyed in a series of explosions in an army camp in Landi Kotal.

One soldier lost his life and three others suffered injuries when the military convoy came under attack on the Frontier Road in Peshawar suburbs on Friday, police said.

Neither the TTP nor any other militant group claimed responsibility for the attack on the convoy.

Soon after the attack security forces cordoned off the area and journalists were not allowed to go near the place. Ambulances and rescue workers rushed to the area.

Some people said a roadside bomb had struck one of the vehicles in the convoy, but it could not be confirmed from official sources.

An officer of the Badbher police station said security personnel were on a routine patrol in the disturbed area near Aziz Market bordering the Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency when militants opened fire on them.

The deceased was identified as Lance Naik Fazli Khaliq and the injured as sepoys Hamidullah, Amjad and Wahid. They were taken to the Combined Military Hospital.

The police officer said security personnel had been attacked in the area in the past by militants from the tribal region. The area mostly remains under curfew, but there was a relaxation when the attack took place. “It is a very sensitive place where militants plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and law-enforcement personnel have to be cautious while moving to and from the tribal region,” he said.

He said police had been deployed at all entry and exit points of the area bordering Khyber Agency to look for and arrest the attackers. All people and vehicles were being checked, he added.

The officer said checkposts in the suburbs of Peshawar were jointly manned by police and Frontier Constabulary, but the area was large with several entry and exit points.

He is of the opinion that the government should revive peace committees and strengthen volunteers to help law-enforcement personnel in the fight against militants.

A large number of people from Bara have shifted to Peshawar and are living in different localities, but there is no way to ascertain if there is any terrorist among them. “The situation can be controlled only with the help of local informers and volunteers, but the government policy in this regard is unclear,” the officer added.

BLASTS IN ARMY DEPOT: There is mystery about a series of explosions which hit an army camp in Landi Kotal in the early hours of Friday and destroyed a large stockpile of arms and ammunition.

Local resident Ali Shinwari told Dawn that he had seen flying projectiles amid a series of blasts at about 2.15am.

He said his house was about 3km from the camp and he and other members of his family had been awakened by the loud sounds which shook the area. The blasts continued till 4am and terrified people.

Witnesses in the nearby Kando Khel locality said they ran for safety as the intensity of the blasts increased with the passage of time. A handicapped minor girl was slightly injured by shrapnel.

Security officials said the explosions had been caused by a short circuit in an underground ammunition depot near the parade ground of the army camp.

They said bomb disposal teams had been called from Peshawar to defuse unexploded mortars and security personnel were collecting shells of the exploded projectiles from adjoining areas.

A correspondent of a TV channel said Abu Masaab who identified himself as spokesman for Abdullah Ezzam Brigade, a local militant group, had told him by phone that their men had carried out the attack on the depot.

Another local reporter said a militant leader in the area had denied having carried out the attack. 

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