Sources said that the Asad Filling Station was owned by Fateh Khan and he was there in his vehicle when the suicide bomber struck. The incident area is crowded one as several medical centres and District Headquarter Hospital is also situated in the vicinity.
The others who were killed were identified as Nesar Khan, police personnel Sultanzeb, Momin and Sardar. The powerful blast also damaged several vehicles parked inside the petrol pump and injured several patients who had come for medical check up. They were taken to nearby DHQ hospital.
Among the injured who had been identified included Syed Nawab, a resident of village Rega; Bibi, a resident of village Koga; Mukamil, a resident of Dagar Qilla; Saqibullah, a resident of village Nansir; Khailida, a resident of Ghazi Khana; Iqbal, a resident of Anghapor; and Asghar resident of Pir Baba.
DIG Akhtar Hayat told the media that the suicide bomber came to the filling station on a bike and his target was Fateh Khan. He was a former Awami National Party (ANP) leader and had recently joined the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP).
Fateh Khan resisted several attacks of the Taliban on Buner and he, along with his companions, killed several Taliban fighters at Swat-Buner border area in Gookand Valley. Earlier, during the brief rule of the Taliban in Swat and Buner, the militants had occupied Fateh Khan’s house in Buner and damaged his property in Swat area.
Members of the peace militias have come under repeated attacks in the province in the recent past. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar strongly condemned the suicide attack and expressed his sorrow over the loss of precious lives.
In his condolence message, the governor particularly mentioned the martyrdom of Fateh Khan and described it a big loss for the area. Expressing his sympathies with the members of the bereaved families the governor said that the elements involved in terrorism will be brought to justice.