18 killed in Pakistan bus bombing

Eighteen people were killed and another 35 wounded after a bomb blast hit a bus carrying government employees and other civilians in north-western Pakistan today.

The bus was near the city of Peshawar when the bomb planted inside it exploded, almost completely destroying the back half of the vehicle.

The dead included six women, senior police officer Tahir Ayub Khan said.

Peshawar is located near Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region, the main sanctuary for Taliban militants and their allies in the country.

The city has suffered scores of bomb attacks over the past five years, but the level of violence had fallen in recent months.

The drop is partly due to Pakistani military operations against the Taliban in various parts of the tribal region.

Residents took bloodied victims of the bombing to hospital in taxis, trucks and other private vehicles in the aftermath of the attack, local TV footage showed.

Officials wheeled one woman into the hospital on a stretcher. She was covered by a blanket, and her clothes were soaked with blood.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban have carried out hundreds of similar bombings across the country.

The group is waging an insurgency seeking to overthrow the government, partly because of its alliance with the United States.

The Pakistani military has fought back but has had trouble clearing areas of the tribal region of militants, and they continue to strike back.