UPPER DIR: Four members of the defunct Aman Lashkar were killed and 20 others injured when their vehicle was hit by a roadside remote-controlled bomb in the Gomadand area on Sunday.

According to officials and hospital sources, members of the Lashkar were going back to Hayagaye from the Goryal area after attending funeral of a relative when their vehicle was targeted through a bomb planted on the roadside.

The bomb blast left three members of the former Aman Lashkar dead on the spot while the fourth member died in the hospital.

The victims were identified as Raqib Khan, Islam, Fazl Wahid and Fayyaz Khan.

District Police Officer of Upper Dir Mian Naseeb Jan also confirmed the death of four people in the bombing. 

Victims are said to have been receiving death threats from militants for past several years

The injured were taken to the district headquarters hospital in Dir where an emergency was declared. Two injured people were later taken to Peshawar due to their critical injuries.

After the incident, police cordoned off the area and a search operation was launched. 

District Police Officer Mian Naseeb Jan reached the area and led the search operation.

Local sources said that the former Hayagaye Aman Lashkar members had been receiving death threats from militants for the past several years.

Its chief Malik Mutabar Khan was targeted in a suicide bombing near the district courts in 2012.

Mr Khan had survived the attack, but his son was killed while five others were injured in the incident. Another son of Mr Khan was also injured in the attack.

In 2009, a suicide bomber targeted the same Lashkar and blew himself up during a Friday congregation in Hayagaye Sharqi village, leaving about 30 people dead.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2019