KOHAT, May 20: Six soldiers and four civilians were injured when a bomb went off near the division headquarters of the army on Hangu road on Tuesday.

An army truck, carrying troops from Bannu to Parachinar, was hit by the blast, injuring the six soldiers. A car, a pick-up and a rickshaw were also damaged.

The bomb is believed to have been activated by a cyclist with a remote control.

Investigators are treating the seriously injured cyclist with long hair as a prime suspect.

SHO Ibraheem Ullah Khan told Dawn that the device had been blown up prematurely.The suspect, identified as Spin Gul Ferozekhel from Orazkai Agency, has been admitted to the combined military hospital.

The blast damaged windowpanes of the nurses’ hostel of the Women and Children Hospital and nearby medical stores.

After the explosion, the entire cantonment area was cordoned off by security personnel and movement of army officers was temporary stopped.

Army personnel also reported to have arrested two other suspects who were roaming near the division headquarters at the time of the blast.

The injured civilians were identified as Taoos Khan, Rang Bad Shah, Amanullah and the army personnel as Lance Naik Abdul Waheed, Mushtaqur Rehman, Basharat Nawaz, Izzat Khan, Farudullah and Mohammad Raheem. After the blast, the army closed the Kohat tunnel and launched a search operation in Darra Adamkhel.