At least 18 killed in Pakistan bombing

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, May 15 (UPI) -- An explosion, believed set off by a suicide bomber, tore through a hotel Tuesday in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, killing several people.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported at least 18 were killed and scores injured in the explosion at the four-story Marhaba Hotel, located in a busy market area.

Peshawar is the capital of the tense North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan.

It was in that province last month that Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao and his son survived a suicide bomb attack at a public meeting. That attack killed about 30 people, PTI reported.

The latest incident comes at a time of rising political tensions in Pakistan, brought on by growing Taliban insurgency along the Afghan border and protests over President Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the country's chief justice, which resulted in deadly riots during the weekend in Karachi, in the country's south.