12 killed in suicide attack in northwest Pakistan

A suicide bomber targeted the convoy of a senior security forces official in Peshawar city of northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing 12 persons and injuring over a dozen others, officials and witnesses said.

The attacker detonated his explosive vest when the convoy of Frontier Constabulary commandant Abdul Majeed Khan Marwat slowed down near a check post in Sadar area within the Peshawar cantonment, witnesses said.

The commandant remained safe though his vehicle was damaged. Six persons, including two women were killed instantly while six persons succumbed to their injuries in hospital, officials said. The injured were taken to the LadyReading Hospital and a military hospital. Officials said four Frontier Constabulary personnel were among the injured. Some of the wounded were in a serious condition, they said.

Marwat told the media that his convoy was the target of the attack. He said the explosion occurred a short distance from his vehicle. Footage on television showed several vehicles and motorcycles were damaged by the explosion. Ambulances rushed the injured to hospital as paramilitary personnel and army soldiers cordoned off the area.

Witnesses said they had seen the body parts and the head of the suicide bomber. No group claimed responsibility for the blast though such attacks are usually blamed on the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

In August 2010, then Frontier Constabulary commandant Sifwat Ghayur was killed in a similar suicide attack on his convoy in Sadar area of Peshawar.