LAKKI MARWAT: Nine people, including four policemen, were injured in an explosion in Serai Naurang town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Wednesday, according to police.

District police spokesperson Qudratullah Khan told Dawn that the explosion occurred on the busy Bannu-DI Khan Road near a fruit and vegetable market. He said the attackers targeted a police patrol party from the Shaheed Asmatullah Khan Khattak police station.

The spokesperson said Head Constable Waheed­ullah and Constables Syed Anwar, Hadiullah and Ikramullah were among those injured in the explosion. He added that the van carrying the policemen was also damaged.

Giving details about the nature and cause of the blast, he said the attackers had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) on a motorcycle to target the police van passing through the area.

Patrol van, nearby shops, vehicles and power transmission line damaged

Local residents said some nearby shops, parked vehicles and a power transmission line were also damaged in the explosion.

A Rescue 1122 official initially put the number of injured at seven, saying rescue personnel reached the site and shifted the wounded to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.

However, a police official, quoting hospital staff, said a total of nine injured persons, including four pol­i­c­emen, were brought to the facility. “Other inju­red persons were identified as Fidaullah, 16, Zahidullah, 8, Yasir, 13, Suleman, 55, and Mujeeb,” he added.

Following the blast, a heavy police contingent cordoned off the area, collected evidence from the site and launched efforts to trace and arrest those responsible.

Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan, during his visit to hospital to enquire after the injured, said such cowardly acts by terrorists could not shake the resolve of the police force in its fight against terrorism. He added that the police were fully prepared to foil the designs of enemies of peace and that the sacrifices of personnel would not go in vain.

The incident occurred around two weeks after an attack on a police vehicle in Lakki Marwat’s Bettani subdivision, in which seven policemen, including an officer, were martyred.

According to police, an IED was used in that incident to target a squad from the Shadikhel police station during routine patrol. Six policemen, including a station house officer and five constables, lost their lives.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026