Car bomb kills one, injures 12 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A powerful car bomb targeting a pro-government tribal trader went off at a busy market on the outskirts of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan today, killing at least one person and injuring 12 others, police said.

The bomb was hidden in the car that was parked at Karkhano Market, located in an area bordering the restive Khyber tribal region, police officials said.

The market, where people usually hire vehicles to travel to the tribal belt, was crowded at the time of the blast.

The injured were taken to a hospital in Peshawar, where one of them succumbed to his wounds.

Police said pro-government tribal trader Malik Taj was the target of the attack.

Taj, who has supported the government's drive against militants, was injured in the blast.

The blast occurred just as Taj entered the market with his bodyguards in two vehicles.

At least 10 cars and several shops were damaged in the powerful blast.

Footage on television showed several cars that were destroyed by the explosion.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. In a separate incident, a blast was reported in the Jamrud area of Khyber tribal agency.

The nature of the explosion and other details could not immediately be ascertained.

Several militant groups, including the banned Pakistani Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam, are active in Khyber.