At least 26 people, including women and children, were killed and more than 95 others injured in two separate attacks that apparently targeted Shia Muslims in Pakistan's restive North West Frontier Province and adjoining tribal belt on Friday.
Twenty-one people, including three children and four women, were killed and some 90 others injured when a powerful bomb planted in a van went off near an imambargah or Shia prayer hall in the NWFP capital of Peshawar on Friday night.
The blast ripped through a crowded market in the congested Kucha Risaldar area in the historic old quarters of Peshawar, sparking a massive fire that gutted several shops and warehouses.
The market was packed with people shopping ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha festival.
TV channels beamed footage of rescue workers and passers-by rushing the injured and bodies to nearby hospitals. Twenty of the injured are in a critical condition, officials said.
The bomb was hidden in a van parked along with other vehicles in the thickly populated area. The powerful blast was heard from several kilometres away. Police officials said around 25 to 30 kg of explosives were used in the attack.
Over a dozen vehicles were destroyed while three buildings caught fire. Fire fighters had a tough time controlling the blaze. Rescue efforts were hampered by a power cut and the narrow roads in the area.
The local administration declared an emergency in hospitals in Peshawar and doctors on leave were recalled for duty.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack. There have been several instances of Shia prayer halls being targeted in Peshawar and other parts of the NWFP in the past few months.
Earlier in the day, six tribesmen were killed and five others injured in a suicide attack in a busy market in Pakistan's northwestern Aurakzai tribal region.
The attack occurred when the market was packed with people shopping ahead of the Eid festival. There was also a rush of people for Friday prayers, witnesses said.
No group claimed responsibility for this attack too but officials said it could be linked to sectarian tensions. Aurakzai Agency has witnessed sectarian clashes in recent months.
Reports said the suicide bomber was trying to target a jirga or tribal council convened by minority Shia Muslims to resolve a dispute with the majority Sunni community. The bomber tried to drive into the market in a Shia area but detonated his explosives when he was stopped at a check post.
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