Suicide blast near Bannu; policeman killed

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A suicide bomber allegedly blew himself up by detonating explosives strapped to his body, while a policeman died of shrapnel injuries near Speen Tangi, 24km east of Bannu, on Sunday. The bomber, suspected to be of Uzbek origin, had earlier shot and injured the policeman, Khalil, near Speen Tangi when his car was stopped at a checkpoint. After injuring the policeman, he fled towards the Frontier Region, and police chased him, officials said. During the chase, the man opened fire on the police party, which resulted in an hour-long exchange of fire. Police said that when the suspect received a bullet injury and fell down, Platoon Commander Ahmad Khan went up to him, but he detonated the explosives strapped to his body, blowing himself up and seriously wounding the policeman, who died latter in a hospital. The officials said the body was blown into pieces but its facial features suggested that he was a foreigner. Police seized a hand grenade, a pistol, a voice recorder, cassettes of Jihadi songs and literature and some letters written in Persian and Russian from the body. The officials said police had erected blockades on different entry points to Bannu following a tip that a man suspected to be Uzbek was travelling in a car towards the city. Shahzada, driver of the car in which the suspect was travelling, told police that another man had got down at Latambar.