A roadside explosion caused by an improvised explosive device, targeting a convoy of foreign diplomats, killed one policeman and injured four others, an official in Pakistan said Sunday.
The diplomats traveled to a tourist area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and is a base for militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban.
The explosion occurred at the tourist site and hill station of Malam Jabba, one of Pakistan’s two ski resorts, about 250 km north of the provincial capital Peshawar.
Sherin Zada/AP
The diplomats in the convoy were from Indonesia, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan. Everyone is safe and a heavy security force is at the scene, said police officer Javed Khan.
They visited the area on the invitation of the local chamber of commerce and industry, Khan added.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that an advance scout police vehicle was hit by an IED. The diplomats have returned to the capital, Islamabad.
“Our sympathies are with the policeman’s families. We honor our law enforcement agencies who remain steadfast in the face of terrorists,” the ministry said.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.
In a separate incident, in southwestern Balochistan province, gunmen opened fire on a security patrol team in Zhob district, killing two policemen on Saturday evening.
A third died of his injuries on Sunday, Deputy Inspector General of Police Ghulam Muhammad said.