Suicide bombing in Pakistan kills one policeman, injures several others
A suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in Pakistan on Friday killed at least one policeman and two suspected militants while injuring several others, according to the police and the interior ministry.
Pakistan's interior minister Rana Sanaullah in a statement said a man and a woman were riding a vehicle that entered Islamabad from Rawalpindi on Friday morning. A team of the Eagle Squad intercepted it for snap-checking when they blew up the car, which was laden with explosive material.
He said the terrorists intended at hitting some "high-value targets" in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
The car did not stop at the checkpoint when police tried to halt it, deputy inspector general (DIG) of operations at Islamabad police, Sohail Zafar Chattha, told reporters.
"As they chased it, the people inside the car blew it up. It was a suicide blast," he further said, adding that it injured four police personnel and two civilians.
"Had the car reached its target, it would have caused heavy losses," Sanaullah told Geo News TV.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of local terrorist outfits, claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Following the incident, security was beefed up in Islamabad and Rawalpindi while checking at exit and entry points of the cities was made stricter.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the explosion and sought a detailed report on the incident from authorities. He also paid a tribute to the police officers for thwarting the nefarious design of terrorists.
The incident comes as the TTP withdrew from the ceasefire agreement with the government last month, which has caused a resurgence in terror activities in the South Asian country.
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