| Bomb kills 26, wounds 65 at Pakistan market |
PESHAWAR A bomb planted in a pickup truck killed at least 26 people including three children at a market in northwest Pakistan on Saturday and wounded 65, security and hospital officials said, in one of the largest bombing death tolls in weeks.
The target in the town of Landi Kotal appeared to be a tribal leader allied with the government against the Pakistani Taliban, the militant group blamed for many of the suicide bombings across the country, security officials said.
Hospital officials said 65 people were wounded, most of them fruit and vegetable vendors.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
One security official said a suicide bomber connected with the attack began wandering around the town near the border with Afghanistan shortly after the explosion.
“The blast was so powerful, it was heard far and wide and caused damage to nearby buildings,” said resident Sher Mohammad Shinwari
Local administration chief Mutahir Zeb said there were 18 bodies at the Landi Kotal hospital while seven victims had died while being taken for treatment in Peshawar, the main town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The dead included three children aged nine, 10 and 12, he added.
Motor mechanic Sajidullah Khan, who was wounded in the leg, forearms and face, said: “I was checking a car when I heard a huge blast nearby. I knew nothing afterwards and came to in the hospital.”
Shakoor Jan, an electrician, said he was sitting in his shop when the blast rocked the whole area. “There was fire in several shops,” he said.
Agencies
|
 |
|
|
| NEWS UPDATES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
