A bomb blast targeting police killed six people in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, rescue and police officials said.

The bomb exploded close to the route of a police patrol in the city, said police official Mohammad Adnan, adding that it was not immediately clear if the incident was the result of a suicide attack or a bomb planted nearby.

Six people were killed and 21 injured in the blast, said rescue official Aizaz Mehmood, but he was not able to provide a break-up of police and civilians.

As per reports, when the injured victims were being transported to the hospital, unknown persons opened fire on police officers present there.

The injured include Abdul Hameed, Ishaq, Qudratullah, Nasir, Yasmin, Shireen, Qamar Zaman and others. Police have cordoned off the area and started a search operation.

According to the preliminary investigation, a motorcycle installed with explosive materials was used in the blast. People who died in the blast were between the ages of 15 years to 20 years.

Police have identified one of the six dead as Qamar Zaman. They also noted that some students of the Government Degree College were also injured as a result of the shooting.

Separately, another act of terrorism took place near the Hathala Police Station in DI Khan, where a young man was killed in a bomb blast.

The blast targeted a joint party of army and police. According to initial investigations, the explosives were planted on the roadside and were used to detonate by remote control. After the explosion, there was an exchange of fire between the attackers and security forces.

Meanwhile, the caretaker government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has condemned the blast and said that taking the lives of innocent people is a “cowardly and barbaric act.” These miscreants cannot demoralise the nation and the law enforcement agencies with such cowardly attacks, they said. ​