Death toll in Pakistan's Swat bombing on peace committee members rises to 8

The death toll in the blast claimed by the Pakistani Taliban in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district has climbed to eight as police recovered three more bodies from the site

The death toll in the blast claimed by the Pakistani Taliban in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district has climbed to eight as police on Wednesday recovered three more bodies from the site where a member of the local peace committee along with four others was killed, officials said.

The roadside bomb attack on Tuesday targeted the vehicle of the peace committee member Idrees Khan, an ex-Village Defence Council (Aman Committee) Chairman of Kabal Tehsil, in Swat district of the province, a police official said.

The blast in the Bara Bandai area resulted in the death of Khan and seven more persons, including two police personnel, officials said.

A search operation was launched on Tuesday to arrest those behind the attack, police said.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Mohammad Khurasani, claiming the responsibility of the blast, said Khan had been supporting security forces for the past several years.

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Mahmood Khan, condemning the incident, said those responsible for the blast would be brought to justice.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in the targeted attacks on security forces since the Taliban takeover of Kabul last year in August after the withdrawal of US forces.