Successive blasts in northwest Pakistan

11/08/2011| IslamWeb

Successive blasts targeting police in northwestern Pakistan have killed four policemen and a child and injured another 30, officials said.

A remote-controlled bomb was detonated in the Lahori Gate area in the city of Peshawar early on Thursday as police constables were on their way to begin their shift. Four police officers and a young boy were killed.

Shortly after, two female bombers approached the site of the blast. One of them detonated her explosives, killing herself and the other bomber, police said.

Both attacks wounded at least 30 people.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the second incident occurred after a crowd had started building at the site of the bombing, a common tactic in recent bombings.

No one has taken responsibility for the attacks yet.

Early morning

The first blast, a remote-controlled device which targeted a police van carrying 20 constables, inflicted the majority of the casualties.

"At least four policemen and a schoolchild have been killed in the attack, "said Muhammad Faisal, a senior police official in the area.

He said that 18 other policemen had been injured.

Local police officials said that the device was hidden in a handcart parked at the roadside.

"A 12-year-old boy has also been killed in the incident," he said.

In the day's second attack, one of the females first threw a grenade, then was able to partially detonate her vest, said Shafqat Malik, a police official with the bomb disposal unit.

She appeared to be just 16 or 17 years old, he said.

PHOTO CAPTION

File photo shows Pakistani security personnel nearby a damaged police checkpoint.

Al-Jazeera