NOWSHERA, Dec 18: At least 18 people, among them seven security personnel, were injured on Tuesday when two masked men on a motorcycle hurled grenades at them near the PAF Academy Risalpur.

Official sources said a large number of job-seekers were waiting at Gate No 3 of the academy for interview when the attack took place.

The injured security men were identified as Akbar, Parvez, Amjad, Mir Hassan, Atif, Aurangzeb and Abdullah.

Other victims came from Karak, Rawalpindi, Attock and Mardan districts.

Security personnel cordoned off the area after the incident and launched a search operation for the attackers.

Nowshera DPO Mohammad Hussain said an operation would be carried out soon to clear the area of criminals and anti-social elements.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who visited Risalpur after the incident, said terrorists had exhausted local ‘manpower’ and were now using foreign elements for their activities.

“We will fight them till they are eliminated and peace will soon prevail,” he said.