PESHAWAR, Jan 30: Three men said to be involved in several bomb blasts were killed when some explosives went off in the guestroom of a house in Tauheedabad area on Wednesday.

Police told Dawn that the suspects were preparing explosives for terrorist attacks in the provincial capital when the explosion took place. They said 10kg of explosives and a 30-bore pistol tied to the body of one of the men had been found.

The terrorists, two of whom were identified as Ali Rehman and Saidullah, were living in the small guestroom of to the two-room house.

Police condoned off the area and took owner of the house and members of his family into custody for interrogation.

The group had blown up two shops in Afridiabad area on Monday night, police said.

Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion and “ran towards the place and saw doors and windows of the room lying on road”.

“I entered the room but there was no light and I brought a gas torch,” neighbour Awas Khan said.

He said the mutilated bodies were taken away in Edhi ambulances.

He said the men reportedly dealt in Chinese toys, bulbs and torches, which were stored in the veranda.

Witnesses said two veiled women and children, among them an infant, had also been taken into custody but police said they had been shifted to the home of a relative.

City police chief Tanvirul Haq Sipra said the men were involved in explosions in CD shops but they were not suicide bombers. The explosives found at the place had been prepared locally.

He said one of the men appeared to be a teenager and the others were 24 or 25 years old. They belonged to Mohmand Agency.