PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A suicide car bomber set off a huge explosion Friday near a popular market area in Pakistan's northwest Peshawar, killing dozens of people, authorities said.
Dawn newspaper said at least 41 died in the attack near the Khyber Bazaar area of Peshawar, capital of the violence-torn North-West Frontier Province, as the Pakistani military prepares for its long-awaited offensive against the Taliban and al-Qaida strongholds in South Waziristan's tribal areas.
Geo TV, quoting a provincial minister, reported 42 had died and more than 100 were injured in the attack.
The report said the death toll could rise as doctors at the hospital, where the injured were taken, said more than 50 of them were in serious condition
The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency said some of those killed were in a passenger bus hit by the blast. The blast destroyed several shops and vehicles in the area.
Shafqat Malik, chief of the bomb disposal squad, confirmed a suicide attacker had detonated the bomb, Geo TV said.
"The suicide attacker was sitting in the vehicle," he said.
On Monday, a suicide bomb attack at the World Food Program office in Islamabad killed five people and the Taliban later claimed responsibility for it.
