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Suicide bomber kills 25 in Pakistan city
Residents look at the wreckage of a vehicle damaged in a suicide bomb attack at a market in Kohat, located in Pakistan's northwest frontier province, on Friday.
Kohat, Friday
A suicide car-bomber killed at least 25 people in northwest Pakistan on Friday in an explosion on a road that brought down nearby shops, police and witnesses said.
Militants have struck with bombs numerous times since intensifying their war against the government in 2007, but the Islamists have suffered setbacks this year raising government hope that the security forces might be getting the upper hand.
The bomb went off on a main road near the city of Kohat, 150 km southwest of Islamabad, and brought down some shops beside the road, police and witnesses said.
A restaurant and many shops have collapsed. It’s chaos here. There’s huge devastation,” said Ibn-e-Ali, a former judge and resident of the area.
“My house is one kilometre away, but the blast was so huge it felt as if it was next door,” he said.
Mehtab-ul-Hasan, top administrator of the region where the blast took place, told Reuters that 25 to 30 people had been killed.
“Twenty bodies are lying beside me,” Hasan said by telephone.
Kohat is a garrison town, close to the lawless ethnic Pashtun tribal belt on the Afghan border, which is a major sanctuary for militants battling in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Reuters)
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