Pakistan hit by deadly blast

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan—At least 20 people were killed and 70 injured in a suspected car bombing in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, Dec. 5.

The blast hit a heavily populated area outside a Shi’a mosque near the central Kissa Khwani Bazaar. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Recent violence in north-west Pakistan has included sectarian clashes and fighting between the army and Islamist militants. The attack in Peshawar ripped through the bazaar, where people were shopping for the Muslim festival of Eid. Peshawar's main hospital declared a state of emergency and the death toll is expected to rise. Women and children are believed to be among those killed, and a number of people were thought trapped under rubble.

"It shook the entire area like an earthquake," one witness said. "It was a huge and terrible explosion. As we reached here everything was burning; there was rubble all around."

Another man caught in the blast was Haji Rab Nawaz. "We were in the mosque after finishing our evening prayers … Suddenly the blast happened. Debris from the mosque roof fell down on us. The blast was very powerful, and I heard the voices of people injured for up to five minutes. It was horrible," he said.

Police officials said the bomb contained 20 to 25 kilograms of explosives and seemed designed to spread fire. The explosion left the narrow lanes of the bazaar strewn with human limbs and charred bodies, witnesses said. Congested lanes around the scene of the blast made it difficult for rescuers to gain access, local media reported. A hospital where more than a dozen bodies were taken was appealing for blood donations.

The Dec. 5 attack comes against the backdrop of army operations in north-west Pakistan against Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, and tribesmen who support their cause.

[Reuters]