Pakistan - Peshawar bombing

Suicide bombing kills 49 in north-west

Article published on the 2009-10-09 Latest update 2009-10-09 12:41 TU

A policeman examines a vehicle at the site of an explosion in Charssada, 160 km from Pakistan's capital Islamabad, on 17 August, 2009. Six people were killed in the attack, which the Taliban claimed responsibility for.
(Photo: Reuters/Ali Imam)

A suicide bombing has killed at least 49 people in the city of Peshawar, the main city in the troubled North-West Frontier Province, according to officials.

The blast, which occurred in a shopping area near the city's Khyber Bazaar, also injured more than 100 people, police say.

At the hospital, doctors said that 50 of those injured remained in critical condition.

The bomb, estimated at more than 100 kilograms, was hidden in the door panels of the vehicle and included machine gun rounds to cause maximum damage.

The province is home to the Swat valley, where the government has recently carried out a largely successful offensive against the Taliban. This week the military has launched an offensive against Taliban in South Waziristan, which is used as a base by Islamists fighting both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

Earlier, 30 Taliban attacked a truck depot in Peshawar used by western troops for their mission Afghanistan. Several lorries were destroyed.