At least 91 people have been killed and more than 200 injured by a
powerful car bomb in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, in the country's
troubled northwest.
Witnesses said the blast ripped through a crowded market Wednesday
afternoon. The market had many stalls and shops selling clothes, toys
and jewelry -- and most of the victims were women and children.
Television images showed rescue workers digging through gutted shops
and battling fires as a cloud of gray smoke hangs over downtown.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Peshawar is the most populous city in Pakistan's North West Frontier
Province and a gateway to the country's lawless tribal areas, where
security forces are battling Taliban militants.
The blast occurred a short time after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton arrived in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for three days of
talks with senior officials.
Militants in Pakistan have launched a wave of attacks against military,
government and foreign targets in recent weeks, killing more than 150
people. Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for most of the
assaults.
Pakistani officials say the attacks are retaliation for the army's
ongoing offensive against Taliban strongholds in the South Waziristan
tribal region.
