PESHAWAR: At least six people were killed and four others injured in twin blasts in Safi area of Mohmand Agency on Friday, official sources said.
Sources told Dawn.com that the blasts targeted the peace committee volunteers in Chinari village of Safi Tehsil and the death toll is likely to rise. They said that Musawar, son of peace committee elder Dara Khan, was among the dead.
According to local tribesmen, the first blast targeted the peace committee members, who were riding a motorcycle, with a remote-controlled IED. The second explosion took place when the bodies and injured from the first blast were being evacuated, they added.
Injured have been shifted to the main hospital in the area.
Security and rescue teams reached the blast site and cordoned off the area as a probe into the incident went underway.
TTP splinter group claims responsibility
Meanwhile, spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar – a splinter group of proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the blasts targeting members of government backed peace committee.
Speaking to Dawn.com over telephone, he said that the peace committee members were targeted in Mohmand for supporting the Pakistani government. The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar spokesman vowed to continue attacking tribal peace committees.
Mohmand is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal regions near the Afghan border, which are rife with militant activity and said to be strongholds of Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives.
Pakistan's military has been fighting to eradicate militants in the tribal area. They have launched the latest Operation Khyber-I amidst Zarb-i-Azb, a full-fledged military operation being conducted by the army against the Pakistani Taliban and other militants in the tribal region.
