PESHAWAR: A minibus explosion in northwest Pakistan that killed 17 people and injured 11 others Monday was a terrorist attack triggered by a timed bomb, police told AFP.
Revising an earlier report that the blast had been caused by exploding gas cylinders, police in Jawarza, near the restive town of Hangu, said the minibus had been planted with about 10 kilogrammes of explosives.
“The report of the bomb disposal squad shows that explosive materials fitted with a timer were placed near the gas cylinders which caused the explosion,” district police chief Abdul Rashid told AFP from the scene.
“The death toll has risen to 17 and five bodies still remain unidentified, as they have have been burnt very badly,” he added.
The mangled and burned-out wreckage of the minibus and another passenger vehicle were left at the scene.
Rashid said most of the passengers in the minibus had been killed, along with two people travelling in a pick-up truck nearby when the blast occurred
