Northwest Pakistan blast, clashes kill at least 54
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An explosives-packed pickup truck blew up a police security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more, the day after a foiled militant kidnap attempt led to another 24 deaths in the volatile region.
The suicide attack occurred on the outskirts of Peshawar on Saturday, as lawmakers across the country voted to elect Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as the new president. Zardari has vowed to be tough on militancy.
Television footage showed a blast crater 1 meter deep, destroyed vehicles and pieces of debris scattered across a large area. Officials said many people were trapped under the rubble of two collapsed buildings in a nearby market. Civilians dug frantically with their hands in hopes of finding survivors.
Nasirulmulk Bangash, a top police official in the area, said the vehicle carried at least 150 kilograms of explosives - an amount he called "unprecedented" - and was apparently en route to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.
He said the large quantity of explosives indicated the attack was aimed at a more important target than the small checkpoint, but might have been tripped up by high security on election day. Bangash did not speculate on what the intended target might have been.