MUZAFFARABAD: At least four people sustained injuries in a blast after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir late on Sunday night, officials said.

The public transport vehicle was passing through the Khilana area to drop passengers from Rawalpindi when the IED went off at about 9.50pm, Jhelum Valley Deputy Commissioner Abdul Hamid Kiani said on Monday.

Located in Chakothi sector of the district, Khilana is close to the restive LoC.

“While heading towards the last stop, the driver spotted rocks in the middle of the narrow road. He tried to pass his vehicle from the edge of the road, but it hit the IED,” Mr Kiani told Dawn. The driver and three passengers were injured in the explosion, he added.

The injured were identified as driver Iram Abbas — a resident of Muzaffarabad; Mukhtiar Ahmed, Changaz Latif and Rehmat Hussain — all residents of Khilana.

They were shifted to a hospital in Muzaffar­abad and were said to be out of danger. About six months ago, a similar blast left three people injured at the same spot, Mr Kiani recalled.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2017