ISLAMABAD – Two explosions went off minutes apart in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar early yesterday, killing 34 people and injuring 98 in one of the deadliest attacks since the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month, officials said.
The blasts, one of which was caused by a suicide bomber, occurred just after midnight in an area of the city that is home to political offices and army housing.
The attack took place as CIA director Leon Panetta and Afghan president Hamid Karzai visited Islamabad, about 155km (95 miles) to the east, to speak separately with senior Pakistani officials about intelligence sharing and efforts to reconcile with the Taliban.
The first explosion was relatively small and drew police and rescue workers to the site, said Dost Mohammed, a senior local police official.
A second, and much larger, explosion rocked the area a few minutes later, causing the fatalities and injuring 98 people, 18 critically, said Rahim Jan, a senior doctor at a local hospital.
The second blast was caused by a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle packed with 10kg (22lbs) of explosives, said Ejaz Khan, a senior police official.
The source of the first explosion was unknown.
No group claimed responsibility, but the Pakistan’s Taliban have pledged to carry out attacks in retaliation for the covert US navy seal raid that killed bin Laden outside Islamabad on May 2nd.
The attack took place across the street from the offices of the top political agent to Khyber, part of Pakistan’s volatile tribal region, and only a few metres from army housing units. Peshawar borders the tribal region and has been repeatedly hit by bombings over the past few years.
The dead included at least one journalist, said Mohammed Farooq, a hospital doctor.
Four other journalists and at least 10 police officers were injured, he said. Many of those killed were so badly burned they were difficult to identify. – (AP)