At least six Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide attack in the Bisham tehsil of Shangla district of Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday.
At least six Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide attack in the Bisham tehsil of Shangla district of Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday. Malakand Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police Muhammad Ali told Pakistani media that the attackers crashed their vehicle full of explosives into the car in which the Chinese nationals were travelling. The Chinese were working on the Dasu hydropower project.
UPDATE : Death toll rises to 9 after Pashtun fighters targeted a convoy carrying Chinese nationals in Besham city of Shangla district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 6 Chinese are among the dead.
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He further said that many people were feared injured in the attack also. "The attack appears to be a suicide, but an investigation is underway," the police officer said, adding that the passenger vehicle was going from Islamabad to Kohistan.
The officer asserted that the attackers forcibly collided an explosives-laden vehicle into the passenger car, causing it to veer off the road and plunge into a nearby ditch.
"The area has been cordoned off, and the Bomb Disposal Squad has reached the spot," he added.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
BREAKING : A senior Chinese official is among 6 Chinese who were killed in attack by Pashtun fighters in Besham city of Shangla district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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Bisham Station House Officer (SHO) Bakht Zahir also said that the incident was a “suicide blast” and the authorities concerned were collecting the evidence. Security arrangements were tightened at the spot and the bodies were being shifted to a hospital.
"We will investigate from where and how the vehicle of a suicide bomber came and how it happened,” the SHO said.
Shangla is situated near Kohistan, where a terrorist attack in 2021 resulted in the deaths of 13 individuals, including nine Chinese nationals. Pakistan hosts thousands of Chinese personnel engaged in various projects under the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.