PESHAWAR: The owner of the motorcar, which was used in a suicide attack on a senior security official on Tuesday, belonged to Murree, official sources said.

They said that parts of the car, bearing registration number JF 692-Islambad, were recovered from the crime scene and forensic experts were busy to reach a conclusion as early as possible.

The officials of counter terrorism department said that efforts were made to get some authentic information about the suicide bomber but the situation was not clear so far.

“Investigators are busy in collecting evidence and recording statements of people,” an official said. However, he added that the head of the bomber was not recovered to determine his age and area.

Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a member of the investigation team, when contacted, said that it was a mystery for police to ascertain as to wherefrom the explosive-laden vehicle had come to the spot.

He said that checking of such vehicles was not easy because every day thousands of vehicles passed on every road that could not be checked. He said that traffic would come to a standstill in the district if they began to check every vehicle at checkpoints.

“We will soon ascertain if the motorcar was stolen and who was its owner,” Mr Khan said and added that in such cases usually stolen vehicles were used by the terrorists.

Meanwhile, police claimed to have arrested 67 outlaws including 25 Afghan nationals during search and strike operation conducted in different localities in Peshawar on Wednesday.

The operation, a police spokesman said, was conducted in Gulberg, Nauthia, Gujarbad, Shuba Bazaar, Khyber Super Market, Maskinabad, Mushtaqabad and Gulabad areas. He said that Elite Force, policewomen, bomb disposal unit and sniffer dogs took part in the operation. He said that two proclaimed offenders, four robbers and 55 suspects were picked from their houses and weapons were also recovered from their possession.

Published in Dawn, September 25th , 2014