UPDATED
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct 28 — A car bomb killed 57 people and wounded about 100 today in a crowded market in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, government officials said, the latest in a series of bloody militant attacks.
The blast came several hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan pledging a fresh start in relations with an increasingly embattled and sceptical partner in the struggle against Islamic militancy.
The Peshawar bomb went off in the busy Peepal Mandi market street in the old city, sparking a fire that engulfed several buildings.
“Fifty-seven people have been killed and more than 100 have been wounded,” a senior government official in the city, Azam Khan, told Reuters.
“It was a car bomb. The car was parked outside a market frequented mostly by women,” he said.
Pakistan is on high alert amid fears of retaliatory strikes by Pakistani Taliban militants as the army attacks their strongholds in South Waziristan on the Afghan border.
The offensive came after a series of brazen attacks on the United Nations, army headquarters, police and general public, in which more than 150 people were killed.
There have been several bomb attacks since the offensive began.
Today’s blast caused serious damage in the neighbourhood of old wood and brick buildings, busy streets and narrow lanes.
“Several buildings and a mosque have been badly damaged while a fire has engulfed a building,” witness Aqueel-ur-Rehman told Reuters from the scene.
“I can see three bodies lying under the debris,” he said.
The army launched the offensive on Oct 17 and says it is making steady progress as soldiers push towards the al Qaeda-linked militants’ bases in the region’s rocky mountains and patchy forests.
Pakistani stock market investors have been unnerved by the violence in recent weeks and the main index was 0.75 per cent lower at 9,244.22 points at 0900 GMT.
“Despite strong corporate results and good valuations, the deteriorating law and order situation is keeping fresh investment at bay,” said Asad Iqbal, managing director at Ismail Iqbal Securities Ltd — Reuters
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