• Incident takes place in Bhai Cheena area of Bajaur.
• Hunt for the suspects has been launched, says DSP.
• Injured rushed to hospital for medical treatment.

BAJAUR: At least three police officials got wounded in a blast on Saturday after their vehicle hit a bomb planted along the roadside in tehsil Khar of Bajaur district.

The deputy superintendent of police (DSP) said other officials, including the station house officer (SHO), escaped unhurt in the blast incident.

A hunt for the suspects had been launched in the Bhai Cheena area, the DSP added.

Police said the wounded were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

The attack comes two days after an explosion at a police station on Thursday night claimed the lives of two people, while several others remained injured in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

District Police Officer (DPO) Swabi Haroon Rasheed had told reporters that the blast occurred in the police station’s warehouse room on the first floor, where huge quantity of explosive material recovered from the terrorists from time to time was stored.

The nation has been reeling under rising violent attacks since the Taliban rulers returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of KP and Balochistan.

The two most vulnerable provinces saw a sharp rise in deadly attacks last couple of months, according to data from the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS).

The digital database of security incidents managed by the Islamabad-based think-tank suggested an alarming situation as the number of attacks jumped from 38 in July to 59 in August.

These incidents included 29 attacks in KP, 28 in Balochistan, and two in Punjab. Meanwhile, KP witnessed 25 casualties in the 29 terrorist attacks during August.

To tackle the menace of increasing terrorism in the country, the federal cabinet had approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam in June this year. The operation is a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.