A suicide bomb attack at on election rally killed at least 14 people, including an ANP candidate for provincial assembly Haroon Ahmad Bilour besides injuring 65 others, here on Tuesday, police said.
The attack targeted a rally in connection with election campaign organised in the city by the Awami National Party (ANP), which has been targeted by militants several times in the past over its vocal opposition to extremist groups like the Taliban.
The ANP candidate for PK-78 Peshawar, Haroon Ahmad Bilour was the son of former KP senior minister late Bashir Ahmad Bilour, who was also killed in a suicide attack in Dec 2012 at historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar.
According to CCPO, the target was the ANP candidate and occurred near his vehicle. The names of other victims could be ascertained. The death toll is likely to increase as some of the injured were stated to be in critical conditions.
The injured were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) where emergency was also already declared. After hearing about the incident a large number of ANP workers rushed the hospital. Meanwhile, the caretaker Prime Minister former Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, PTI chairman Imran Khan and MMA chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman have condemned the bomb blast.