A remote-controlled explosive device planted on a bridge in Mardan's Takhtbhai area exploded on Friday, resulting in three deaths and seven injuries, police officials confirmed.
Sadar Superintendent of Police (SP) Khalid Khan that “unidentified terrorists” were responsible for planting the device near the Jalala bridge. The explosion occurred as a police van was passing by.
The blast damaged the police vehicle and a rickshaw, claiming the lives of three rickshaw passengers and injuring seven others, including two police officers.
In the aftermath of the explosion, a large contingent of police arrived at the scene, launching a search operation. Rescue personnel quickly shifted the wounded to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Takhtbhai, while the injured police officials were taken to the Mardan Medical Complex.
Mardan District Police Officer Zahoor Barbar Afridi confirmed that the explosion was remotely controlled.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the blast on social media platform X, extending his condolences to the victims' families. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Engineer Amir Muqam also expressed their sympathies and condemned the incident.
This tragic event follows closely on the heels of another attack earlier this week in Balochistan’s Kalat district, where a security official was martyred, and four others sustained injuries from an improvised explosive device (IED). The targeted vehicle was en route to the Iskalku area to guard an oil and gas exploration site.
Pakistan has witnessed a troubling surge in terror-related incidents, particularly after the banned militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its truce with the government in November 2022 and resumed targeting security personnel.
