Cop dead, 6 injured in suicide blast in Pakistan's Islamabad

A policeman died and at least six others were injured in a suicide blast in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Friday (December 23), police officials said.

The blast was reported near Islamabad’s 1-10/4 sector, an upscale area which is close to university and government offices, Geo News reported.

What happened: A loud explosion was reported in Islamabad’s I-10 sector following which security officials cordoned off the area and launched an investigation, reported Pakistan's ARY News.

Police's statement: According to Deputy Inspector General of Police Sohail Zafar Chattha, the police spotted a “suspicious vehicle” with a man and a woman aboard at 10.15 am in the area, reported the Dawn.

• “When the police stopped the vehicle, the couple came out of the car. The man, while being checked by the officers, went inside the vehicle on some pretext and then detonated himself,” the police officers said in a media briefing.
• In a tweet, the Islamabad Police identified the slain officer as Head Constable Adeel Hussain. Islamabad Police said that terrorists had been targeting police for some time.

Traffic diversions: Police said that diversions had been placed for both sides of traffic at Service Road East of Sector I-10/4. It advised citizens to use Service Road West of Sector I-10/4 as an alternate and stay away from the blast site.