Islamabad: At least seven persons, including four policemen, were killed and 20 others injured today when a suicide bomber targeted the convoy of a senior police officer in the northwestern Pakistani city of Mardan.

The attacker blew himself up at about 1.30 p.m. Near the motorcade of Deputy Inspector General of Police Akhtar Ali Shah in a high-security area in Mardan where the circuit house, police offices and a passport office are located.

Shah, who was on his way to his office after addressing a news conference, escaped unhurt. Shah told Dawn News channel that he believed he was the target of the suicide bombing. Four policemen and three civilians died in the attack, he said.

Doctors said 20 injured people were brought to a local hospital for treatment. The critically injured were taken to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.

The head and a leg of the suicide bomber had been found at the site of the blast, Shah said, adding security measures had recently been improved for all top police officials as they could be targeted in attacks.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police rushed to the site and sealed the area to traffic and the public. A large number of people rushed to the local hospital to donate blood and to inquire if their kin were among the victims.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack and ordered an immediate inquiry.

The attack was the latest in a series of suicide blasts that have rocked Pakistan. In recent weeks, hundreds of people have been killed when suicide bombers struck at high-value targets like the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital and an ordnance factory complex in Wah cantonment.
Source : PTI