TAXILA/RAWALPINDI: Three people were killed and 18 others injured in a suicide attack on a van at Dhoke Gama in Attock district on Thursday.

Two of the injured were taken to District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi, for their critical condition while others to the DHQ hospital in Attock. The deceased included the van driver and two pedestrians — Habib Khan and Hafiz Iftikhar.

Abid Munir, Station House Officer of Saddar police station, told Dawn that the van was carrying 30 people when the suicide bomber hit it on the driver’s side. He said the van driver, identified as Akram Niazi, and a pedestrian were killed on the spot. He said body parts of the suicide bomber and ball bearings were scattered all around the scene of the attack.

Shortly after the attack, police and intelligence personnel started a search operation in the area. The Punjab inspector general of police put security at “high alert” across the province.

Police said no militant organisation had so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The motive behind the attack remains unclear. According to a bomb disposal expert, 8kg of explosives was used for the blast.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2018