11 killed,22 injured in two bomb attacks in northwest Pak

An army convoy with eight security personnel was on its way to Thall town from Ghiljo area of Orakzai Agency when militants detonated the remote-controlled explosive device in Yakh Kandao area.

The two injured soldiers,who were in a serious condition,were airlifted to a military hospital in Kohat town. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Pakistani Taliban is active in the region despite an operation carried out by the army in Orakzai Agency to flush out militants.

Orakzai Agency is considered a stronghold of the Taliban and they regularly target security forces and pro-government tribal elders in the area.

In another attack,five persons were killed and 22 others injured when a remote-controlled bomb went off at Chatoo mosque in Pishtakhara area of Peshawar after the Friday prayers this afternoon.

Three persons were killed instantly while two others succumbed to their injuries in the evening,police said.

The bomb was planted beside one of the mosque’s pillars. It exploded shortly after the ‘Jumma’ prayers ended.

Officials said some of the injured were in a critical condition.

The mosque that was targeted is located in the suburbs of Peshawar and near the boundary with the volatile Khyber tribal region. Police cordoned off the area after the blast and started a search operation.

Bashir Ahmed Bilour,the Senior Minister in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet,told reporters at the site of the blast that the provincial government will not succumb to pressure from the militants.

“We will not be deterred by such cowardly acts and we will continue to chase the militants till they are totally eliminated,” he said.