Suicide Blast Rocked Kohat 30 Killed

Friday, September 18, 2009 at 1:45 pm

PESHAWAR: A suicide car bomb tore through a market in Kohat, killing up to 30 people and gutting shops on Friday as families stocked up on supplies for a major religious festival.
The explosion destroyed vehicles and shops near a bus stop in Ustarzai, a small mountain town in the northwest which lies between the garrison city of Kohat and Hangu, police said.

The area was packed with shoppers buying food and delicacies for the weekend and the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, which is expected to start on Monday with the sighting of the new moon after the fasting month of Ramazan.

“A suicide bomber blew up a car filled with explosives in the market. Ten people were killed and many wounded,” said Ali Hasan, a local police officer on the ground in Ustazai.

Police spokesman Fazal Naeem in nearby Kohat said: “We have recovered dozens of dead bodies. Many people were wounded. The suicide bomber was sitting in a car.”

Police said the attack occurred near a bus stop where passenger buses and coaches arrive and depart from other towns across northwest Pakistan.

Police said the explosion caused heavy damage and officers were frantically organising efforts to rescue the dead and wounded.

North West Frontier Province (NWFP) police spokesman Riaz Ahmad said one report attributed the blast to a suicide bomber who blew up his explosives-laden vehicle in the bazaar, but there was no final confirmation.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the “cowardly act of terrorism” and expressed grief over the loss of life, his office said in a statement.

Gilani “expressed the government’s determination to stamp out the menace of terrorism and militancy from the country,” it said.