Children among 12 killed in Peshawar blast

PESHAWAR: Twelve people were killed, including 2 policemen and as many children, while 25 others were wounded in the suicide car bomb blast in Pushta Khara here on Saturday.

Senior NWFP Minister Bashir Bilour said the suicide attack is part of the reaction of the ongoing military operation in South Waziristan.

The powerful explosion rocked the city at 4.15 PM when police stopped a suspected vehicle and attempted to search it at Ring Road.

The blast was heard across a wide radius in which over 20 persons were also injured while four vehicles were badly damaged.

The wounded have been rushed to Lady Reading hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Complex. Emergency has been declared in these hospitals.

According bomb disposal squad 50 to 60 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast.

The law enforcement agencies have surrounded and sealed the explosion site, prohibiting irrelevant persons to enter the area.

Police authorities have declared it a suicide bomb blast, while the engine of vehicle used for explosion has been recovered from the scene.

President Zardari, PM Gillani, Foreign Minister Rehman Malik, chief ministers and governors of all the four provinces along with MQM Chief Altaf Hussein has strongly condemned the loss of innocent lives in Rang Road check post explosion.