BAJAUR/SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Five people, including former senator Hidayatullah Khan, were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in Sesai village of Mamund tehsil, Bajaur tribal district, on Wednesday.

Police and Rescue 1122 officials told Dawn that the explosion occurred around 5pm near Damadola, some 16 kilometres north of Khar, the district headquarters.

According to police, Hidayatullah Khan, a former independent senator, was travelling with four companions to Damadola for his nephew Najeebullah Khan`s election campaign for the provincial assembly constituency PK-22 by-election, scheduled for July 11, when their vehicle was struck by a remotecontrolled roadside bomb.

`Mr Khan was on his way to attend a planned campaign event for his nephew when his vehicle was targeted by an IED,` Deputy Superintendent of Police Bakht Munir stated.

Israr Khan, a local police spokesperson, told Dawn that Mr Khan and two companions died on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries en route to the district headquarters hospital in Khar. Among the deceased was Malik Irfanullah, a police officer and close relative of the former lawmaker.

Officials said the vehicle was destroyed in the blast.According to the bomb disposal squad`s investigation, 5kg to 7kg of explosives were used in the explosion.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the police spokesman described it as an act of terrorism.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Riaz Ahmad Khan told the media that all five victims died before reaching the hospital, and their bodies were later shifted to the hospital for formalities before being sent to their homes.

The victims included former lawmaker Hidayatullah Khan, 56; Naziruddin, 40; Yar Zada,34; Malik Irfanullah, 35; and Samiur Rahman, 38.

Hidayatullah Khan was the brother of former KP governor Engineer Shaukatullah Khan and the son of former MNA Haji Bismillah Khan of Nawagai.

The attack has drawn widespread condemnation from various political figures, including President Asif Ali Zardari, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani, Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, KP government spokesperson Barrister Ali Saif, the Awami National Party, and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.

Key militant commander killed A key militant commander was killed in an exchange of fire during an intelligencebased operation by security forces in Bajaur district on Wednesday, the military`s media wing said.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that security forces conducted the operation on the reported presence of a `high-profile terrorist`.

It said that the killed militant commander, Irfan Ullah alias Adnan, was actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as extortion and target killings of civilians.

Security official martyred In a separate incident on Wednesday night, a security official was martyred in a sniper attack at Letta Sar post in Makin tehsil, Upper South Waziristan district.

District Police Officer Malik Habib confirmed that Lance Naik Saghir Khattak was wounded by sniper fire from the Black Boulder area and later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. An investigation into the attack is ongoing.

Umer Farooq in Peshawar also contributed to this report