DERA ISMAIL KHAN, May 18 A bomb fitted into a bicycle killed 12 people, a deputy superintendent of police among them, and injured 14 others in the Kachi Painda Khan area here on Tuesday morning.

Police said that the bomb was detonated by remote control when the vehicle of DSP Iqbal Khan Marwat left his residence at 8.45am. The DSP was going to his office in Kulachi tehsil.

According to some TV channels and foreign news agencies, Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The dead included DSP Iqbal Marwat, his guard Mulazim Hussain and driver Mushtaq. Among the nine other victims, four were members of one family — Younus, his wife Irshad Bibi, four-year-old daughter Iram, and eight-year-old son Arsalan.

The others were identified as Mohammad Arshad, Abdul Sattar, Sabir, Laiba and Shah Zeb. They were passing through the area at the time of the blast. A son of the dead DSP was among the 14 injured.

The injured were taken to the district headquarters hospital in Dera Ismail Khan. Two critically injured were referred to hospitals in Multan and Islamabad.

The in-charge of bomb disposal squad, Inayatullah 'Tiger', told Dawn that four kilograms of explosives were fitted into the bicycle parked near the DSP's residence.

According to police sources, DSP Iqbal Marwat was an apparent target of the blast. They said the police officer had seized a cache of weapons dumped by militants in Dera forest.

The cache included a suicide vest. He had also arrested several militants in the district, they said, adding that the DSP had received threats from militants.

Security was beefed up in the city after the explosion. All entry and exit points to the city were sealed off and emergency was declared at the DHQ hospital.

All shops in Kachi Paind Khan were closed after the blast.

The funeral of DSP Iqbal Mawat and other policemen were offered at the police line and the DSP's body was sent to his hometown, Lakki Marwat.

Agencies add The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

“Iqbal Khan was so active against the Taliban. We planted that bomb and claim responsibility for this attack,” Azam Tariq, a spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said.

“We will target all such people. These sorts of policemen are on our hit list,” he said from an unspecified place.

Riaz Khan, a provincial police spokesman, said the bomb was planted on a bicycle and detonated by remote control.