Peshawar: At least 15 people were killed and 25 others injured when a bomb exploded on a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar this morning.
The explosion took place near Peshawar's Sunehri Masjid and targeted a Civil Secretariat bus which was carrying government employees from Mardan to the provincial capital.
Muhammad Kashif, Superintendent of Police Cantonment, said that the blast was caused by explosives planted inside the bus.
"It's premature to comment about the nature of the blast but it appears that explosives were planted inside the bus. There were 40-50 people on the bus," Kashif said.
The area has been cordoned off and the injured have been shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital. He said about 50 people were on board the bus at the time of the explosion. Two women and a child were among the dead. At least 30 people were injured in the blast.
SP Cantt Kashif Zulfiqar said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted inside the bus. About 8 kg of explosives were used in blast. The injured were shifted to Lady reading hospital. The condition of a majority of those injured was stated to be critical. Eight of the injured were admitted in ICU. Fear and panic spread among residents in the wake of the explosion.
"The top part of the bus has blown off and is being cut to pull out the injured," an eye witness was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.
Peshawar has seen scores of attacks on civilians as well as law enforcement personnel in the past.
The city is also the home to the XI Corps, an administrative corp of the Pakistan Army, which manages all military activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is currently engaged in a full-blown operation against militants in North Waziristan.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack in Peshawar. He expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in the attack. "These cowardly attacks cannot shatter our unflinching resolve against terrorism," he said.
