18 killed in two terror attacks in Pakistan

Islamabad: At least 18 people were killed on Friday in two separate terror attacks in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, reports said. Four terrorists trying to attack a Christian colony in Peshawar were killed during a stand-off with security forces earlier in the day, DawnNews reported. A civilian was also killed in the gun fight. All four attackers detonated their suicide jackets, Additional Inspector General Bomb Disposal Squad Shafqat Malik said, adding that rifles and five hand grenades were recovered from the attackers. Two Frontier Corps soldiers, a police constable and two civilian guards were injured in the exchange of fire with the terrorists, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In the second attack, 13 people, including four lawyers and three policemen, were killed and 41 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the entrance of Mardan's district and sessions court, DawnNews reported. District Police Officer (DPO) Mardan Faisal Shahzad said the attacker detonated a hand grenade before blowing up his suicide vest. The bomb contained 8 kg of explosives material, the DPO said. Both the attacks were claimed by terror outfit Jamaatul Ahrar (JA) who were also responsible for last month's suicide attack at the Quetta Civil Hospital that killed 73 people, mostly lawyers. President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have condemned the attacks and expressed solidarity with the families of those killed, the Daily Times reported. "The terrorists are being shattered by the security forces, due to which they are retaliating. We will not spare them, they will be wiped out from every corner of the country," Sharif said. The attacks in Peshawar and Mardan come a day after Director-General (DG) ISPR Asim Bajwa gave an exhaustive rundown of progress made against militants in the country's northwestern region in Operation Zarb-i-Azb which was launched in June 2014, DawnNews noted.