TTP-linked Blasts Kill 3 Police in Hangu

Twin explosions in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Friday killed Superintendent of Police (Operations) Asad Zubair and two other policemen and injured several others who were taken to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Hangu. Police said the first device detonated at a checkpost in the Baliamina/Ghulmina area, destroying a nearby room; as SP Zubair and a police party moved toward the scene a second, more powerful improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle, killing the officers. Kohat division RPO Abbas Majeed and KP IGP Zulfiqar Hameed said authorities had cordoned off the area, were on high alert, and identified the attackers as linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (referred to by authorities as 'Fitna-al-Khawarij'). Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the blasts and paid tribute to the martyred officers. Investigations and reporting are ongoing.