PESHAWAR/LADI KOTAL, March 23: A man was killed and three power pylons were blown up in separate bomb blasts in Peshawar district and Khyber tribal region on Wednesday. In the first incident, a powerful explosive device, planted by suspected militants in the middle of a link road in Matani area of Peshawar district, exploded and killed the owner of a donkey-cart and his two animals.

A police official said the road was used mainly by the volunteers of Adezai Qaumi Lashkar. Militants had planted bomb in the road at night time, he said.

The device exploded at 10:30am when the donkey-cart passed over it. The cart owner, identified as Miskin Khan, and the two donkeys pulling the cart were killed in the blast, the official said.

The victim was transporting firewood in the cart to a local market for selling.

An official of the Bomb Disposal Unit said that the explosive, packed in pressure cooker, weighed about four kilograms. Such bombs are usually used to target tanks and heavy vehicles, he added.

“It was sort of a landmine. Such a device has been used for the first time in Peshawar area,” the official said. He said that most of the mines so far used in the region were Russian made but this one was prepared locally.

The commander of Adezai Qaumai Lashkar, Fazal Malik, said that the bomb was panted to target volunteers of lashkar but they remained unhurt as they changed their route on the day.

“We suspect that some local residents planted the bomb as it was put there late at night. Outsiders cannot be suspected as members of peace body are regularly patrolling and checking movement of people in the area,” said Farman Khan, another volunteer of the lashkar.

He said that they received information that militants would attack activists of lashkar this week. Duties had been assigned to volunteers but it could not be said with certainty as from which side the attackers would enter the area, he added.

In the second incident, two power pylons were blown up in Gulo Khan village of Badhber in the small hours of Wednesday.

A police official said that the blast site was located away from the police station. It was not safe to visit the area at night as it was located close to Frontier Road along the border area of Khyber Agency. One of the pylons, he said, had fallen on ground while the other bent.

“The blasts caused suspension of power supply to Matani in Peshawar and some areas of Kohat district,” he said.

An official of Bomb Disposal Unit said that eight explosive devices were planted at the two pylons while six of them exploded. Each bomb weighed about one kilogram, he added.

In Khyber Agency, unidentified persons blew up a power pylon and damaged a telephone exchange in Jamrud tehsil on Tuesday night.

Officials said that power supply to the entire Landi Kotal tehsil was suspended when a powerful blast damaged the main power supply line at Ali Masjid at around 10.15pm on Tuesday night. The blast also caused partial damage to a nearby telephone exchange.

However, power supply to Landi Kotal was restored on Wednesday. Officials said that they also detonated another powerful explosive device at the site of the explosion on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, Khasadar Force seized nine kilograms of heroin from a warehouse in Landi Kotal Bazaar. The occupants of the warehouse managed to escape before the raid, officials said.