Car escorting Russian envoy drives into IED in Pakistan, police killed
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Swat district police officer Zahidullah Khan says no diplomats were hurt in the attack.
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A Pakistani flag flies on a lookout in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 27, 2022. (AP)
A police vehicle escorting the Russian Ambassador to Pakistan, Albert Khorev, along with several other foreign dignitaries, drove into a landmine on Sunday while traveling from Mingora, the largest town in the Swat Valley, according to the Russian Embassy in Islamabad.
"On September 22, Ambassador Albert P. Khorev, along with several other Ambassadors, took part in the Swat Tourism Summit organized by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry. On the way to the hotel from the town of Mingora in [the province of] Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, an escort vehicle hit a mine," the diplomatic mission indicated on X.
The embassy mentioned that Russian diplomats were unharmed in the incident.
Later, Pakistan's police force confirmed that a roadside bomb killed one of its policemen and injured three others while they were escorting a convoy of foreign diplomats.
According to a statement, the convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) as it passed through Malam Jabba, a town in the Swat district.
Swat, known for its snow-capped mountains and turquoise rivers, is one of Pakistan's most famous tourist destinations.
"One policeman succumbed to his wounds while three others were wounded," Swat district police officer Zahidullah Khan told AFP.
He said that the diplomats were traveling within a police convoy, and the lead police vehicle was targeted, adding that no diplomats were hurt.
Khan explained that the diplomats were visiting as part of a trip organized by Islamabad and the Swat Chamber of Commerce to promote local industries, such as handicrafts and gemstones.
Another senior police official, Muhammad Ali Khan Gandapur, stated that the convoy included diplomats from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Vietnam.
Pakistan’s foreign office confirmed that the diplomats had safely returned to Islamabad.
"Such acts will not deter Pakistan from its commitment towards the fight against terrorism," it stressed in a statement.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in a region previously dominated by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group with an ideology similar to the Afghan Taliban.
