A suicide bomber on Monday struck a police vehicle in Peshawar, killing five persons, including a police official, officials said.
The bomber struck Deputy Superintendent of Police Abdur Rashid Khan's vehicle at an intersection on the busy Ring Road in Peshawar on Monday morning. The police officer, two bodyguards, a driver and another person in a car parked near the site of the blast were killed, officials said.
Officials at the Lady Reading Hospital said they had received 15 injured people. The condition of two of the injured was described as serious.
The bomber was waiting at the intersection. The DSP was on his way to office when the bomber struck, police said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. DSP Khan had survived two attempts on his life in the Gulbahar area of Peshawar last year.
Additional Inspector General Shafqat Malik of the bomb disposal squad said police had found the head and body parts of the bomber as well as the triggering mechanism of the suicide vest.
Nearly seven kilograms of heavy explosives were used in the attack, he said. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Senior Minister Bashir Bilour, a senior leader of the Awami National Party that rules the province, said the government's drive against militants will continue despite such attacks.
"We are ready to die, we are prepared to sacrifice our lives to defend Pakistan," he told the media at the site of the attack. Bilour ruled out the possibility of holding talks with militants who did not lay down their arms.
Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar condemned the attack and described it as an act of cowardice.
