Story highlights

The police chief fought to keep militants out of Peshawar

An explosion kills the chief and two security guards

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN  — 

A suicide bomber targeted an anti-Taliban police chief in Peshawar Thursday, killing him during morning rush hour traffic, a senior police official said.

Kalam Khan was on his way to work when his car slowed at a construction site near Pishtakhara Chowk, according to Tahir Ayub. A man carrying about six kilograms (13 pounds) of explosives detonated himself near the car.

The blast killed Khan instantly, Ayub said, and seriously injured two security guards.

“He was instrumental in stopping militants from entering Peshawar city,” according to Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a senior government official, who said the violence by militants would not discourage their fight against terror in Pakistan’s northwest.

Journalist Zahir Shah Sherazi contributed to this report