Pakistani car bomb kills 91 people

A CAR bomb struck a busy market in north-western Pakistan yesterday, killing 91 people — mostly women and children — as visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged US support for Islamabad’s campaign against Islamic militants.

More than 200 people were wounded in the blast in the main north-western city of Peshawar, the deadliest in a surge of attacks by suspected insurgents this month. The government blamed militants seeking to avenge an army offensive launched this month against al-Qaida and Taliban in their stronghold close to the Afghan border.

The bomb destroyed much of the Mina Bazaar in Peshawar’s old town. The blast collapsed buildings, including a mosque, and set scores of shops ablaze. The wounded sat amid burning debris and parts of bodies as a huge plume of gray smoke rose above the city.