Pakistan: Deadly blast hits market in Orakzai district
(VOVWORLD) - An explosion has ripped through a busy market place in the northwestern Pakistani town of Kalaya, killing at least 25 people, officials say. More than 55 people were wounded when the blast occurred on Friday morning, health official Adnan Tahir told Al Jazeera by telephone from the provincial capital, Peshawar.
It was unclear whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or an improvised explosive device, local government official Mudassir Bangash told Al Jazeera. "Reports are still coming in, nothing is confirmed yet," Bangash told Al Jazeera by telephone.
Abbas Khan, the assistant commissioner of the district, told the Reuters news agency that a suicide bomber had driven his motorcycle into a crowd attending a festival and market that attracts people from various religious communities.
Earlier, the AFP news agency, citing a police official, reported that the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device placed in a carton of vegetables at the market in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.