KHYBER: A suspected militant was killed when an explosive device he was trying to plant along the roadside went off in the early hours on Monday, the police said.

They said the incident took place at around 2am in Sultankhel area.

Local residents also confirmed the incident and said that they heard a huge bang at around 2am.

The police said that they cordoned off the locality after receipt of information about the incident, and also closed the main Peshawar-Torkham Road.

They said that the suspected militant died instantly in the blast, while they recovered a Kalashnikov, a hand grenade and a remote from near the body.

The body was first taken to the Landi Kotal Hospital for autopsy, and later shifted to a morgue in Peshawar as it could not be identified.

The main road remained closed till 11am with local residents raising doubts about the local police’s ability to tackle such a situation. They alleged that the body of the suspected militant remained on the spot for nine hours.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2023