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22 killed in Peshawar blast

— PHOTO: AFP

Firefighters at work after the blast in Peshawar on Friday.

ISLAMABAD: At least 22 people were killed and 70 injured in a massive explosion in a crowded market in Peshawar on Friday night.

The North-West Frontier Province Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti at once alleged a “foreign hand” in the bombing. He told Geo Television that “external forces were destabilising the region”.

Officials confirmed at least 22 people were killed and 70 wounded. Television channels were quoting hospital sources that at least 20 people were killed and nearly a hundred wounded.

The apparent car-bomb exploded near a Shia community centre behind the historical Qissa Khwani Bazaar. The Imambargah is owned by the Shia community of Parachinar in the Kurram tribal agency where Shias and Sunnis only recently declared a fragile truce.

The explosion led to an electricity blow-out, and a subsequent fire damaged several buildings. There was panic as people trapped tried to flee the area and were caught in a stampede.

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