Bombing in Peshawar kills 17, injures 20

Peshawar: At least 17 people, including three children, were killed and 20 others injured when a remote-controlled bomb on Sunday targeted a convoy of security forces at a crowded market here in northwest Pakistan.

The blast, believed to be an IED explosion, targeted the convoy of Frontier Corps on their way to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa`s capital Peshawar from Kohat district. Javed Marwat, Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar, said, "17 people were killed in the remote control blast." The injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital and condition of some of them is stated to be critical, authorities said. According to police the bomb was planted in a car and was triggered when the convoy approached was passing through Badaber area of Peshawar. Bomb Disposal Squad official Abdul Haq said that 40-50 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast, which also destroyed 10 vehicles and several shops. After the blast gunshots were exchanged between security forces and the terrorists. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have strongly condemned the blast. Meanwhile, a rocket attack in South Waziristan tribal region killed two people and injured 12 others on Sunday. PTI