PESHAWAR  - A suicide bomb attack outside the Iranian consulate in Peshawar Monday killed two persons including a soldier of Frontier Corps (FC) and wounded ten others, officials said.
The bombing took place in the upmarket University Town area where many non-government organisations are also based, besides a number of private schools in the vicinity.
The dead and injured were taken to Khyber Teaching Hospital. The killed persons were identified as Noor Nabi and Aleed Hussain while the injured included Ali Sadiq, Mazhar Ali, Arbab Hussain, Riaz Ali and Naek Nawaz. Doctors said the injured were stable.
The attack came at around 4:45pm when large number of security personnel was present on the front side of the building. The security guards of the Iranian consulate and paramilitary soldiers in the area fired shots in the air in panic after the bombing. The building did not suffer much as the area is heavily guarded with sand bags and there is an FC check post there.
Heavy contingent of security forces reached at the site and cordoned off the area after the blast. They also launched a search operation to net suspects. The police seized the car that reportedly belonged to the bomber. A senior police official, Muhammad Ejaz Ahmed, said it appeared to be a suicide bombing.
SP Ahsanullah also confirmed that the blast was suicidal in nature. The bomber triggered the bomb when his car was stopped at the check post, he added. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Parvez Khattak and governor of the province strongly condemned the attack and expressed heartfelt condolences with the victim families.
No group had yet claimed responsibility, but Taliban have carried out such attacks in the past.
Agencies add: A child was killed in a hand grenade blast at Badaber area of Peshawar on Monday. Badaber area has been witnessing a series of terror attacks for long; hundreds of people have lost their lives in this suburban area of Peshawar alone.
Earlier, at least three bomb blasts hit different areas of Peshawar Monday morning while no casualties were reported in the attacks. The explosives were planted outside the home of a resident in Phase-VII of Hayatabad area of Peshawar. The second blast occurred in Afghan Colony while the third in Shahbaz Town.
On Saturday, at least nine people were killed in similar strikes in Hangu district. Late Sunday night, three rockets were fired on the security forces’ camp in Miranshah area of NWA. But fortunately, no loss of life occurred.