KHYBER: A Khyber police official embraced martyrdom after he challenged and tried to arrest a suicide bomber in a newly-built mosque in the Ali Masjid area of Jamrud, on Tuesday.

According to police officials, a threat alert was issued by intelligence agencies about infiltration of some non-locals and suspected suicide bombers in the newly-built mosque near the main Peshawar-Torkham road.

They said that Adnan Afridi, Additional SHO of Ali Masjid area, in a bold bid to arrest the suspected suicide bombers, went inside the mosque himself.

They said that as Mr Afridi entered the mosque, one of the suicide bombers exploded his suicide jacket out of fear of being arrested, killing the police official on the spot.

Suicide bomber detonated vest as additional SHO closed in on his location, police say

The force of the bomb blast also destroyed the mosque building.

Police, however, arrested another suspected terrorist, who tried to escape. He was later handed over to intelligence agencies for interrogation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Minister Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel strongly condemned the bombing, expressing heartfelt sorrow and regret over the martyrdom of Additional SHO Adnan Afridi. He condoled with Afridi’s family and said that the provincial government stood with the bereaved in this hour of grief.

Last week, five policemen embraced martyrdom and 12 people including nine personnel suffered injuries when terrorists attacked an official compound in Bara and a police post near Peshawar within a span of a few hours.

This is the second terrorist attack in Khyber district in less than a week.

On Thursday, two suicide bombers were intercepted by police at the entrance of the tehsil headquarters complex and police station adjacent to Bara bazaar in the district.

While police gunned down one of the attackers, the second one blew himself up, resulting in the martyrdom of three policemen while 10 others, including three civilians, were injured.

KP has seen an uptick in terror activities since the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

The most lethal of these attacks also targeted a mosque in Peshawar’s police lines on January 30. According to official numbers, 84 people lost their lives in the powerful explosion that ripped through the mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2023