Car bomb kills scores in Peshawar

At least 80 people have been killed and scores hurt by a large car bomb in a market in Peshawar, Pakistan.

It was one of the deadliest attacks in the country this year, sending plumes of smoke across the north-western city.

Similar attacks have killed more than 200 people in recent weeks, as the army carries out an operation against Taliban militants in South Waziristan.

The blast came as US Secretary of State Hillary ClintonHillary Clinton began a visit to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Mrs Clinton told a news conference the US was "standing to shoulder" with Pakistan is its fight against "brutal extremist groups".

Pakistani television showed footage of burning shops in the Peepal Mandi area of Peshawar and crowds digging through rubble to rescue people.

The market mostly sells products for women, and most of the dead were reported to be women.

"There was a huge blast. There was smoke and dust everywhere. I saw people dying and screaming on the road," eyewitness Mohammad Siddique told the AFP news agency.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for the North West Frontier Province, told reporters 80 people had been killed and 200 wounded.

Hospital officials told the BBC the number of casualties could rise.

Burning buildings

Zafar Iqbal at the city's Lady Reading hospital told AFP more than 150 people had been wounded. Doctors said a state of emergency had been declared at the hospital. He appealed for people in Peshawar to give blood.

Police official Anwar Shah said the blast had been caused by a car bomb.

"It was a huge bomb blast, heard in almost all the city," he said.

Another witness, Aqueel ur Rehman, said bodies were lying under the debris.

"Several buildings and a mosque have been badly damaged while a fire has engulfed a building," he told Reuters.

Bomb disposal official Shafqat Malik said rescue teams were trying to reach people still trapped under the debris.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi said the country's resolve would not be shaken by "such heinous crimes".

In a press conference in Islamabad with Mrs Clinton, he told potential militants: "We will not buckle, we will fight you. We will fight you because we want stability and peace in Pakistan."

The BBC's Mark Dummet in Islamabad says the latest attack is likely to be blamed on the Taliban, who have already carried out a string of bombings in Pakistani cities since the beginning of the month.

Security has been stepped up across the country but the government still appears to be unable to stop the attacks, says our correspondent.

'Brutal extremists'

Mrs Clinton is in Pakistan to discuss US concerns about the increasing numbers of militant attacks and the security of the country's nuclear weapons.

Hilary Clinton: "In recent weeks Pakistan has endured a barage of attacks"

Speaking in Islamabad, she condemned the "vicious and brutal" attack in Peshawar and said the fight against the Taliban was "not Pakistan's alone".

She pledged extra US support to Pakistan's in its fight against the militant insurgency.

"Pakistan is in the midst of an ongoing struggle against tenacious and brutal extremist groups who kill innocent people and terrorise communities," said Mrs Clinton.

"We commit to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani people in your fight for peace and security, we will give you the help that you need in order to achieve your goal.

"Today we had more vicious and brutal attacks that killed more innocent people. The terrorists and extremists are very good at destroying but they cannot build. That is where we have an advantage.''

Last week, Pakistan launched an offensive in South Waziristan, which considered to be the main sanctuary for Islamic militants outside Afghanistan.

Correspondents say the Peshawar blasts will comes as a violent reminder for the US of the difficult task it is facing in the fight against the Taliban, both in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan.