Three killed in Pakistan suicide attack targeting police official (Lead)

Islamabad Nov 24 (IANS) At least three persons were killed and five injured on Friday in a suicide attack that targeted the vehicle of a senior police official in Pakistan s Peshawar city.

The attack took place at 9 a.m. when a man on a motorcycle detonated bombs he was carrying as he passed the vehicle of Additional Inspector General of Police Ashraf Noor who was killed Peshawar police spokesperson Afzal Khan told Efe news.

The Defence Ministry said that in addition to the police official and the suicide bomber one of Noor s bodyguards was also killed and another five police officers were wounded.

On November 9 another senior police official Deputy Inspector General (Transport and Telecommunications) Hamid Shakeel of Quetta was killed in a similar attack while on his morning commute to work.

Six days later Superintendent of Police Muhammad Ilyas was shot dead along with his wife son and brother in Quetta.

Pakistan launched an operation in the tribal areas in June 2014 in which 3 500 alleged militants have been killed according to the Army s data which has not been independently verified. Violence in the country has come down drastically since the campaign began.

In February this year the Pakistani Army launched a new anti-terrorist operation after a series of attacks and also started an offensive against the Islamic State terror organisation in the areas bordering Afghanistan in July.

--IANS
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