A suicide bomber attacked a bakery in Pakistan’s northwest on Sunday, killing 18 people, and another bomb in the volatile region left six others dead. The attacks were the latest in a wave of bloodshed to hit Pakistan since the U.S. raid that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
The suicide bomber struck the bakery in a neighbourhood were Army personnel live in the town of Nowshera, police said. At least two soldiers were among the dead.
The attacker was a young man carrying around 8 kg of explosives. The blast caused some gas cylinders in the bakery to explode, leading to a fire that left many of the 40 wounded in serious condition, said Fazal Maula, a police official.
Earlier report by Our CorrespondentAnita Joshua:
At least 10 people were killed and double the number injured in a bomb blast at a bakery in the Nowshera area of the Khyber-Pukhtoonkhwa province on Sunday night.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for planting the remote-controlled device in a dustbin at the entrance of the bakery.
Since the bakery was located in a crowded market place, more casualties were feared, particularly since the bomb was activated during the Sunday rush-hour. The explosion also triggered a fire.
