Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: At least six people, including five Chinese nationals and one Pakistani, have been killed in a suicide blast in Besham city in Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Geo News reported, citing officials.
Amid sketchy information coming out of Pakistan, some pictures have come out on social media which show the site of the blast. Some locals could be seen pulling out the deceased from the ditch. It also showed smoke arising out of the spot.
Shabbir Hussain Turi, a journalist and editor of Urdu News Net in Pakistan, posted some visuals purportedly belonging to the attack site. https://x.com/ShabbirTuri/status/1772565599945892161?s=20
Geo News reported, citing Malakand's deputy inspector general of police (DIG) on Tuesday that a suicide bomber crashed his vehicle full of explosives into the car in which the Chinese nationals were travelling.
Five Chinese nationals were killed in the attack. A Pakistani driver sustained injuries and was shifted to a local hospital, but he too succumbed to his wounds.
The Chinese nationals were engineers who were going to Dasu camp, Kohistan from Islamabad, the official added.
Meanwhile, a heavy contingent of security personnel arrived at the incident's site and cordoned off the area. Security forces have launched a search operation in the area for the suspects, Geo News reported.
Notably, Dasu is the site of a major dam and the area has been attacked in the past. A blast on a bus had killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, in 2021.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has condemned the attack and expressed grief over the death of Chinese nationals.
"Condolences to the families of the deceased Chinese citizens and the Chinese government. Forces hostile to Pakistan will never succeed in harming Pak-China friendship, President," Media Cell of Pakistan People's Party quoted the President as saying.
PPP Chairman and former Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawala Bhutto Zardari also condemned the attack and said the culprits of the Basham incident "cannot escape punishment."