Police party escapes IED blast near Peshawar.

PESHAWAR -- A police patrolling party narrowly escaped an IED (improvised explosive device) attack in the Gula Khan Zangal area, southwest of the provincial capital bordering Khyber district, on Sunday.

The bomb, weighing around one kilogram, was planted on a roadside within the jurisdiction of Badhber Police Station and it went off seconds after the police van passed through the site, police said, adding the police party remained unhurt. The vehicle was slightly damaged.

Officials said the police party had been asked to patrol the area since a polio eradication vaccination campaign was under way to reach those who refuse to administer drops to their kids, adding 'the step [deputing the team] was taken as a security measure since vaccinators are being targeted by militants'.

The police party was patrolling the area when a call came from the police station to respond to a firing incident in the Mashokhel area, SP Rural Malik Habib said.

He stated that in order to respond to the firing incident, the police party turned right, adding that seconds later the bomb went off. 'The police party escaped the attack but the vehicle was damaged,' Mr Habib told Dawn.

Senior officials stated that police teams rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. However, no arrests were made till filing of the report.

Officials from the Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) stated that approximately 1kg of explosives was used in the blast.

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan...