MINGORA: Four policemen and a child were injured when a police van was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED)here on Tuesday.

According to police, the van was going to Kalam when it was hit by the IED planted on a roadside in Kalalai area of Bahrain tehsil. The bomb was detonated by remote control.

`The van belonged to Mingora police, which was giving security cover to a vehicle carrying some official guests,` they added.The injured, identified as Waliullah, Ihsan and his son Inam, Jamaluddin and Ashfaq, were taken to a hospital where their condition was stated to be stable.

Soon after the incident, security personnel cordoned off the area and launched a search for the people involved in the blast.

The incident took place at a time when a large number of tourists were visiting Kalam valley.

Sources said that thousands of tourists who were in upper Swat were scared and started leaving the area after the blast.The injured, identified as Waliullah, Ihsan and his son Inam, Jamaluddin and Ashfaq, were taken to a hospital where their condition was stated to be stable.

Soon after the incident, security personnel cordoned off the area and launched a search for the people involved in the blast.

The incident took place at a time when a large number of tourists were visiting Kalam valley.

Sources said that thousands of tourists who were in upper Swat were scared and started leaving the area after the blast.