Two bomb attacks kill 34 in northwest Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A total of 34 people were killed and dozens more injured in two bomb attacks in the restive northwest Pakistan today, with militants targeting a crowded market and a police van.

A powerful car bomb went off in a market at Landi Kotal town in the restive Khyber tribal region, killing at least 27 people, including three children, and injuring nearly 60 others.

Officials at a local hospital said they had received 18 bodies while nine persons died while being taken to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The children who died were aged between nine and 12 years, officials said.

They said 57 people were injured and several of them were in a serious condition.

The bomb was hidden in a pick-up truck that was parked in the market. About five kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack.

The blast targeted members of the pro-government Zakakhel tribe, who had formed a militia to take on local militants.