PESHAWAR - At least nine people including a child sustained injuries when some unidentified extortionists hurled a hand grenade at the house of a local trader near Kohati Gate here on Saturday.
The extortionists targeted the house of Syed Karim, a tea and gur (brown sugar) trader, with a hand grenade but before it could go off, a watchman present there, took the explosive device and threw it back to the street where it exploded with a bang. As a result, nine people named Farooq, Abdul Moiz, Zahid, Ozair, Abdul Basit, Syed Rehman, Abdul Moeed, Noorul Ain and Ghuncha Bibi were injured.
Sources said extortionists were demanding Rs30 million from Syed Karim, who had already been attacked twice in the past and luckily escaped unhurt. They said two pedestrians hurdled the hand grenade wrapped in a piece of cloth at the house of the trader and fled from the scene.
According to the bomb disposal squad (BDS) half kilogram of explosives were used in the blast. A fruit trader Qabil Khan, father-in-law of Syed Karim, has already been killed for not paying the extortion money.
Police said apparently the extortionists were behind the attack on the house of trader. A local said the police were informed earlier that Syed Karim and his family were receiving threats from unidentified people.
Soon after the incident, police rushed to the site, cordoned off the area and started a search operation. However, no arrest was made till filing of this report. An FIR has been lodged with Kotwali Police Station and investigations are underway.
MILITANTS SET NATO CONTAINER ON FIRE IN JAMRUD
Ahmad Nabi adds from Khyber Agency: A Nato supply container was set on fire by militants in Surkamr area in Tehsil Jamrud, Khyber Agency on Saturday.
The container bearing registration No.U-9920 was on its way to Torkham Border from Peshawar when it was intercepted by some armed persons. However, crew of the container managed to flee from the scene unhurt.
Taking a kilometre far from the main Pak-Afghan road, the militants set the container on fire, sources said. Exchange of fire also took place between the patrolling party of Khasadar Force and militants. However, the militants managed to run away, sources said. No causality was reported in the incident.