Blast in Swat, Pakistan, Claims Five Lives

Five people were killed in the blast in northwest Pakistan, among them an influential anti-Taliban tribal leader, Idrees Khan, who was in a vehicle that drove over an explosive device.

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Swat police officer Zahid Marwat said peace committee leader Idrees Khan's vehicle drove over an IED, killing him and two bodyguards. A bystander and another unidentified man were also killed.
 
The attack, for which no one has claimed responsibility, took place near Kot Katai village at 6:30 p.m., according to Swat Station House Officer Fayaz Khan, who also said investigations suggest the attack targeted Khan with a "remote-controlled bomb."

The peace committee leader was a local elder and formerly head of a tribal force fighting the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) in Swat. 

In the 2009 military operation, Pakistani forces and local fighters succeeded in pushing TTP fighters out of the area. Local residents said that today's blast was the first large explosion in Swat since the operation.

According to them, many affluent residents and political leaders had already moved their families out of Swat in recent weeks following the resurgence of the TTP in the area.

This attack comes amid growing fears over the TTP's return to the Swat area and the failure of peace talks between security forces and militants, which began last year.