GHALANAI/PESHAWAR: A renewed wave of terrorism in the country intensified on Wednesday when four suicide bombers blew themselves up one after another at different spots in Peshawar, Mohmand Agency and Charsadda in an attempt to target security forces and members of the judiciary.

Two suicide bombers targeted a government compound in Ghalanai, the headquarters of Mohmand Agency, before a third bomber in Peshawar rammed his explosives-laden motorbike into a vehicle carrying four judges. The fourth suicide bomberblew himself up in a combing operation laterin the dayin avillagein Charsadda.

A total of seven people, including four security personnel, were killed and nine others wounded in the attacks. The four judges survived the Peshawar attack but sustained serious wounds.

Wednesday`s attacks came two days after a powerful suicide bombing killed at least 13 people and wounded over 100 others in Lahore. Two personnel of the Bomb Disposal Squad were killed when a bomb they were defusing went off in Quetta on Monday. And on Sunday, a media worker was killed inKarachi in an attack whose responsibility was claimed by the outlawed Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan.

In Lahore, police claimed to have arrested a `facilitator` of the Monday bombing.

In the Ghalanai incident, two attackers tried to enter the political compound.

Witnesses said one of them opened fire on the Levies personnel manning the main gate to make way for the suicide bomber into the compound. However, the personnel retaliated and shot him dead at the entrance to the compound.

The second bomber was on a motorbike and he rammed it into the main gate of the compound, killing the three Levies personnel.

Dr Shad Mohammad, medical superintendent of the agency headquarters hospital in Ghalanai, said four bodies and six injured were brought to the hospital. One of the injured Levies personnel died later.

Hours later, in Peshawar, a suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle into an of ficial vehicle carrying four judges of the subordinate judiciary, killing the driver and wounding five others, including judges, in the Hayatabad area.

The judges have been identified as Asif Jadoon, Rabia Abbasi, Ameena Haider and Tehreema Sabahat. The wounded judges and a passer-by were taken to the Hayatabad Medical Complex, where doctors said their condition was stable.

Peshawar police chief Mohammad Tahir Khan said that the judges` vehicle was without a police escort as according to him security could not be provided to each vehicle.

He said that 15 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast.

He said the law and order situation was precarious on the other side of the border (Afghanistan) and the tribal area (Khyber Agency) was located at a walking distance of five minutes. `It`s not a security failure as we have been arresting criminals on a daily basis keeping in view the looming threats to Peshawar,` he said while replying to a question about security failure.

According to sources, intelligence agencies had intercepted a radio conversation on Jan 22 which indicated a possible attack on lawyers and courts.

The KP Bar Council announced boycott of courts across the province on Thursday (today)in protest against the attack on the judges. In a statement, the council also demanded adequate security for court premises as well as judges and lawyers.

While the responsibility of the Peshawar blast was claimed by banned TTP spokesman Mohammad Khurasani, a TTP faction, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, sent a statement to the media claiming that it carried out the Ghalanai attack on the political compound.

The same group had also claimed responsibility for the Lahore bombing.

Jamaat-ulAhrar led by the one-time chief of TTP Mohmand chapter Mohammad Wali alias Khalid Khurasani recently issued a video, threatening a nationwide campaign targeting civil and armed forces, judiciary, media and political parties. The outfit is based in Afghanistan`s eastern Kunar province and the US State Department had in August last year added it to the list of terrorist groups.

Counter-Terrorism Department officials said they were taking the threat very seriously. `We have informed our leadership that the threat is credible and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is likely to face a major terror wave,` a senior official told Dawn.

Five militants killed near Ghalanai Soon after the suicide attack in Ghalanal, all entry and exit points on the CharsaddaMohmand border were sealed.

A curfew was imposed and all markets inGhalanai, Ekkaghund and Chnada were shut down. The main Peshawar-Bajaur road was closed for traffic from 9am to 2pm.

Security personnel conducted search operations in Ghalanai, Babi Khel, Halki Ghandab, Sheikh Banda, Garo Kando and others areas.

A statement issued by the ISPR said that in a combing operation five militants were killed in the Sheilch Banda area, near Ghalanai.

DSP Mohammad Fayyaz and SHO Wajid Khan said that during an operation police tried to arrest a wounded militant in Mosal village in Charsadda but he detonated his suicide vest. An FC man, identified as Khial Muhammad, lost his life.

In Shabgadar, security forces took into custody about 67 suspects.

In the Pabbi area of Nowshera district, a police constable was shot dead by unidentified motorcyclists.

According to police, Wahidullah of Chowki Mamraiz was coming for duty when two men on a motorcycle fired at him near Pashtoon Gari, killing him on the spot.

`Facilitator` of Lahore blast held The death toll from the suicide attack on The Mall in Lahore rose to 14 after Mohammad Riaz, CEO of HR Pharma, died in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Wednesday.

A police officer, requesting anonymity, told Dawn that they had arrested one of the facilitators of the attack.

The Punjab government has constituted a joint investigation team comprising officials from the ISI, MI, IB, CIA, Lahore Police and Counter-Terrorism Department.

Faiz Muhammad from Charsadda and Suhail Kakakhet from Nowshera also contributed to this report