PESHAWAR: A pickup truck packed with explosives blew up a security checkpoint yesterday in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 30 people and injuring 80 in an attack possibly intended for a more important target, officials said.
About 170 km away in the volatile region, 24 people were killed after residents of villages tired of a “reign of terror” foiled a militant kidnap attempt, then were attacked, the military said.
The suicide attack occurred on the outskirts of Peshawar on the day Pakistani lawmakers voted for a new president, underscoring the challenges facing a country the US has pressured to crack down on insurgents.
Television footage showed a blast crater one meter deep and destroyed vehicles and pieces of debris scattered across a large area.
Officials said many people were trapped under the rubble of damaged buildings in a nearby market. Civilians dug frantically with their hands in hopes of finding survivors. Nasirulmulk Bangash, a top police official in the area, said the vehicle carried at least 150 kg of explosives — an amount he called “unprecedented” — and was apparently en route to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.
Sher Zaman, 15, told The Associated Press from a hospital bed that he was selling fruit from a cart at the market when he heard a large explosion and was knocked down when something hit him in the chest.
