PESHAWAR: Eight passengers including children and women were injured when an improvised explosive device went off on Kohat Road on Friday.

The passengers were onboard a coach thatwas going to Kohat from Peshawar.

An official of Badhber police station told Dawn that actual target of the terrorist act was a police van, which had just passed through the site.

The blast damaged the passenger coach, he added.

Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122,said that the seriously injured passengers were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital. The people, who sustained minor wounds, were taken to City Hospital, he added.

The injured passengers, who were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital, include Noor Badshah, 20; Shabeena, 29; Salman, 14; Janas Khan, 30 and Zubair, 25. Those, who were tak-en to City Hospital, include Sana, Farida and Zainab.

Police said that a search operation was launched in the area to arrest the terrorists.

`We are still in search of the terrorists,` an official said. He added that a case against unidentified terrorists was registered at Badhber police station.