Bomb blast kills 11 in Pakistan

A BOMB ripped through a passenger vehicle parked at a bus terminal near the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar yesterday, killing six and wounding 11 others.

The bomb was planted at the terminal near a market in Matani, about 20 kilometres south of Peshawar, which lies near Pakistan’s lawless tribal region on the Afghan border, senior police officer Kalam Khan said.

“We have reports that six people were killed and 11 wounded,” Khan told AFP.

He said the injured had been rushed to the hospital in Peshawar where the condition of one woman was critical.

“It appears to be a remote controlled bomb placed in a passenger vehicle waiting to leave for a rural area,” Peshawar police chief Mohammad Ijaz said, adding that three other vehicles were also damaged.

He quoted witnesses as saying a man boarded the vehicle and left after leaving a package inside, telling people that he would be back soon.

Shortly afterwards a huge blast ripped through the vehicle. The casualties were mostly among the passengers, he added.

The dead included three women and one child, he said, adding that the wounded also included two women.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Pakistan’s Taliban have carried out several bloody attacks to avenge the killing of Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by US commandos north of Islamabad on May 2.