Friday, October 9, 2009

Scenes of carnage in Peshawar bazaar Pakistan


A vehicle laden with explosives was detonated near the bazaar


Umair survived the blast which hit the bus he was travelling in


Pakistani security officials inspect the wreckage of the vehicle used in the Peshawar bombing.


It was the sixth attack in Peshawar in the past four months


The blast left charred corpses all over the street


The bomber apparently rammed an explosives-packed car into a city bus


More than 2,100 people have been killed in a wave of bombings over the last two years


A bus was destroyed in the blast as well as several cars and motorbikes

A suicide car bomb attack tore through a bustling market in the northwest city of Peshawar today, killing 49 people in a blast that demonstrated militants' ability to strike virtually at will in the country's major cities.

The explosion occurred at the Khyber Bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's violence-wracked Northwest Frontier Province. Authorities said more than 100 people were wounded, at least 15 of them critically.

The market was jammed with people at the time of the explosion. The assailant was driving his car through the bazaar when the blast occurred, said Shafqat Malik, a police bomb squad specialist. About 110 pounds of explosives was used in the attack, Malik said.

The explosion ripped through market stalls and nearby buildings, and overturned a minibus filled with passengers. Pools of blood and shards from destroyed vehicles were scattered throughout the area.

Taliban militants have vowed to step up a barrage of suicide attacks to retaliate against the Pakistani government's preparations for an all-out offensive in South Waziristan, a primary base of operations for the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The attack comes two weeks after a suicide car bomb attack near state-owned bank in Peshawar killing 12 people and wounded 91 more. That same day, a suicide attacker in a pickup truck rammed a barricade outside a police station in the town of Bannu, about 125 miles south of Peshawar. The explosion killed 15 people and injured 60 others.

Speaking in Islamabad, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the blast in Peshawar Friday "gives us a reminder that the Taliban need to be dealt with severely.

"All roads lead to Waziristan," Malik continued. "Any operation in Waziristan shouldn't be delayed anymore. We think we should launch a full-fledged offensive very soon."

The Khyber bazaar in Peshawar is one of the busiest and most densely-populated places in the city.

Militants behind the attack will have targeted the market for precisely this reason.

The power of the blast was immediately obvious. Everything within a 400 yard (365m) radius was severely damaged.

Cars, motorcycles and bicycles were completely destroyed.

From their position, it was clear that some of the vehicles had been moving when the blast took place.

A bus had been completely demolished - it was just a charred skeleton lying on its side.

Police and relief workers were collecting body parts from the remains of the bus and other vehicles when I arrived.

It was a site of sheer carnage - and there were more heart-rending scenes at the nearby Lady Reading Hospital.

A line of bodies lay on the morgue floor - all shrouded in white sheets.

Most were so badly disfigured that it was not possible to recognise them. Most were missing limbs.

The emergency ward upstairs was so crowded that it was hard to find space for those needing treatment.


A look at some recent major attacks in Pakistan or blamed on Pakistan-based militants:

_ Oct. 9, 2009: A suicide car bomb in the northwestern city of Peshawar kills 49 people.

_ Oct. 5, 2009: A bomber dressed as a security official kills five staffers at the U.N. food agency's headquarters in the capital, Islamabad.

_ Sept. 18, 2009: A suicide car bomb destroys a two-story hotel near the northwestern town of Kohat, killing 30 people in what might have been a sectarian attack by Sunni militants against Shiite Muslims.

_ May 27, 2009: A suicide car bomber targets buildings housing police and intelligence offices in the eastern city of Lahore, killing about 30 and wounding at least 250.

_ March 27, 2009: A suicide bomber demolishes a packed mosque near the northwestern town of Jamrud, killing about 50 people and injuring scores more.

_ March 3, 2009: Gunmen attack the Sri Lankan national cricket team in Lahore, wounding several players and killing six policemen and a driver.

_ Nov. 26-28, 2008: Ten attackers, allegedly from Pakistan, kill 166 people in a three-day assault on luxury hotels, a Jewish center and other sites in Mumbai, India.

_ Sept. 20, 2008: A suicide truck bomb kills at least 54 and wounds more than 250 as it devastates the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

_ Aug. 21, 2008: Suicide bombers blow themselves up at two gates of a weapons factory in the town of Wah, killing at least 67 people and wounding at least 100.



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