PESHAWAR: Police in northwestern Pakistan’s Kohat city on Saturday seized a vehicle carrying  a tonne of explosives, averting an attack that they said could have caused massive destruction.

Dilawar Bangash, a local police chief, told AFP that the attackers intended to use the explosives to target religious processions in Kohat.

Two suspects were arrested, he said, adding that two suicide vests were also seized in the operation.

Meanwhile, DawnNews reported that at least five suspects had been arrested. Three suspects hail from Kohat, while the remaining two are from the Orakzai tribal region.

“Thanks to God, they failed to carry out the attack. It could have caused massive destruction,” Khalid Umarzai, local administration chief told another private television channel.