Blast hits US vehicles in Peshawar: one killed, two US nationals among 12 injured

One person was killed and 13 others, including two US nationals, were injured in a suspected militant attack on a US consulate convoy at Abadara Road in University Town here on Friday morning. The suspected militants rammed an explosive-laden motorcar into a vehicle of the US consulate. The body and the injured were rushed to the nearby Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Liaquat Ali Khan told mediamen that some US officials in an armoured vehicle (ICT-QF-490) left the American Club in University Town for the US consulate. When they reached Abdara Road an explosive-laden car rammed into it, causing in a huge blast. Declining to give details about the nature of injuries to the US nationals, he said that they were quickly evacuated from the damaged bomb-proof vehicle from the spot by their colleagues in another jeep soon after the incident.
He said that 50-kg explosive material was used in the attack, and added that it was yet to be ascertained if the car was stationary or moving. He said the sole dead victim was a passer-by, identified as Jamshed (a butcher) son of Bashir of Sufaid Dheri, who was riding a motorcycle and was on his way to his shop.
Three other people riding an Alto-Mehran on the other side of the road also sustained wounds. They included Nabeela Gul, daughter of Gulzar. All injured were rushed to Khyber Teaching Hospital. The CCPO said that foreigners have been told to avoid movement without proper security. According to a Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) official, the blast created an 8x6 feet wide and 2 feet deep crater. He said the explosives loaded in an Alto-Mehran Suzuki car had been detonated through a remote device.
An eyewitness, Nisar Khan, a security guard at a private hospital, said that although he could not see the car, but as the blast occurred parts of a vehicle spread over the entire area. The blast occurred near a school and the residence of the district co-ordination officer. The blast also affected the residence of Additional Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Nasrullah Khan of Karak. However, his family members remained unhurt.
The explosion also damaged several houses in the vicinity and destroyed the water distribution system and power supply lines in the area. An official of the Town police said that other injured were identified as Bilal Zeb, Noorul Haq, Saifoor Shah, Syed Hassan Ali Shah, Zahid Khan, Bakht Nabi, Shahid Awan and Usman Ghanie. The University Town Police, he said, had registered a case under anti-terrorism act against unidentified people.