PESHAWAR, March 11: Four people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up after he had been trapped in a house in Ghauri Khan Bajauri area following a failed attempt on the life of NWFP’s Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour.

According to police, the bomber first tried to attack Mr Bilour, who was on a visit to the area but failed when police opened fire on him. The attacker managed to escape into the congested Bajauri locality, Capital City Police Officer Safwath Ghayur told Dawn.

This was the second attempt on Mr Bilour. On November 11 last year, he narrowly escaped a suicide bombing at the entrance of the Peshawar Sports Complex where inter-provincial games were in progress.

The CPO said the bomber broke into the house of one Aurangzeb. When police surrounded the house, the bomber first lobbed a hand grenade on police, injuring a head constable and later blew himself up, killing two women, a man and a boy. The bombing also destroyed three adjacent homes of Abdul Sattar, Haji Khadim Hussain and Malik Sher.

Those killed were identified as Aurangzeb’s wife, his son Aqib Zeb, daughter Rani and Shahid, son of Dost Mohammad.

Four people, including head constable Himayatullah, Luqman, Shabana, and Khalil-ur-Rehman, were injured and taken to the Lady Reading Hospital.

Witnesses told Dawn that Mr Bilour, accompanied by officials of the Works and Services Department, was inspecting an under-construction sewerage scheme in Namak Mandi. He came under attack at the main entrance of Aasia Gate.

An official of the bomb disposal squad told Dawn that the bomber’s head and a leg had been found and were taken to the Shah Qabool Police Station for tests and identification.

He said the bomber’s age was between 18 and 19 years.

An investigation official said police had collected shreds of a suicide vest, including ball bearings and battery cells.

He said there were two attackers. Another attacker, he said, was seriously injured and was in a hospital under policy custody.
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