PESHAWAR: At least two people were killed and 17 others injured in a powerful explosion near Miryan Police Station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Monday.

According to a statement by the police, the blast occurred when a time bomb planted in a motorcycle detonated. A child was among those killed in the explosion.

Police sources said the blast took place near shops located in front of the station. Although police personnel remained unharmed, civilians in the vicinity were caught in the blast. Several of the injured are reported to be in critical condition.

Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) spokesperson, Muhammad Noman Khattab, stated that the victims were brought to District Headquarters Hospital and Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital.

Rescue 1122 officials said emergency teams promptly reached the scene and moved the bodies and injured to nearby hospitals.

Following the incident, a heavy contingent of the Bannu police reached the scene, along with the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) and the Quick Response Force (QRF).

Police and security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, added the police statement. Evidence is being collected and an investigation has been initiated.

The BDS team also engaged in clearing the affected site “to ensure timely and effective prevention of any possible further threat”, the police statement said.

Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan visited the hospital and enquired after the injured, it said.

Bannu district has been the scene of repeated security incidents in recent months, with both civilians and local security forces coming under attack amid a broader surge in militant violence.

In January, two boys were injured in an explosion in the Domel area of Bannu, one of whom succumbed to his injuries after two weeks.

Earlier that month, the former nazim of Domel, Fida Muhammad Khan Wazir, was injured in a bomb blast outside his office.