Over 100 dead in terror strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan

A car bomb ripped through a crowded market in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar today killingu00a0over 80 people and wounding over 200, hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Islamabad on her maiden official visit.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Taliban fighters stormed a UNu00a0guesthouse in Kabulu00a0leaving 12 dead and several injured. Rockets were separately fired at Kabul's only luxury hotel but no one died.

Blast cripples Peshawar marketplace
The powerful explosion occurred in the congested Peepal Mandi area of Peshawar shortly after 1 pm and the sound was so loud it was heard across the city, witnesses said.

The explosion took place shortly after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began a three-day trip to the country.

As doctors battled to save several of the seriously injured in hospitals, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) officials said many of the 200 injured could succumb to their injuries. Hospital sources told The News that 87 people had been killed in the blast.

Pakistani media reported that a building in the congested locality of Meena Bazar collapsed. A mosque bore the brunt. The windows of buildings were shattered. Several vehicles and around 15 shops were burnt.

The deafening blast, heard almost all over Peshawar, occurred in a market that is hugely popular with women. Most of the dead were said to be women.

Once the dust raised by the explosion settled down, stunned shopkeepers rushed to the rescue of the injured, including children. They also joined security personnel in digging through the debris in a desperate hunt for survivors.

Many people broke down on seeing the ghastly sight -- of mutilated bodies and raging fires -- and on hearing the screams of the wounded. The injured were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital and other hospitals.

The bomb disposal squad blamed a car bomb for the disaster. Xinhua news agency quoted an eyewitness as saying that a parked car exploded, raining death and destruction.

Clouds of smoke rose from the area and several shops were reduced to rubble, their roofs blown off.

The latest terror strike -- amid a wave of bombings and suicide attacks that have shaken Pakistan -- comes just five days after a bombing outside a restaurant in Peshawar.

Police said that about 25 people may have been buried under the rubble.

District Coordination Officer Sahibzada Anees said rescuers faced difficulties in accessing the area because the burning shops were located in congested lanes.

All markets in Peshawar were closed after the blast.

President Asif Ali Zardari denounced the blast. NWFP Chief Minister Amir Hyder Khan Hoti ordered inquiry into the blast.

Pakistan has been witnessing a spate of terror attacks even as the army continues to assault against the Taliban in South Waziristan.

Kabul attack
Six UN employees and three guards were killed here Wednesday in an audacious dawn terror attack on a UN guesthouse that sparked a fierce gunfight leaving three suicide bombers also dead. Rockets were separately fired at Kabul's only luxury hotel but no one died.

The gunmen barged into the guesthouse at 5 a.m. in the Shirpoor diplomatic enclave and opened indiscriminate fire, killing the UN staff instantly, a police official told Xinhua news agency.

Three guards of the compound were also killed in a gunfight that erupted between the attackers and the startled security forces.

The guesthouse accommodates the international staff of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The Taliban is bitterly opposed to the UN. Wednesday's attack came ahead of the Nov 7 presidential runoff election.

Plumes of smoke rose above buildings in the Afghan capital's Shar-e-paw area as the gun battles raged between the suicide bombers and the security personnel.

Interior ministry spokesperson Zmarai Bashari confirmed that three suicide bombers were killed.

Police said the firefight lasted an hour and a half and ended with all the militants killed or captured, DPA said.

A short while after the attack on the UN guesthouse, two rockets fired from an unknown location slammed next to Kabul's only five-star as well as fortified hotel, Kabul Serena. The hotel is located near the presidential palace and the foreign ministry.

The hotel usually accommodates high ranking foreign guests and officials.

The Taiban, which has dramatically stepped up its war against American forces, claimed responsibility for the first attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the media from an undisclosed location over telephone that the attack sought to disrupt the runoff vote, Xinhua reported.

On Oct 8, a Taliban suicide bomber exploded near the Indian embassy here killing 12 people and injuring nearly 90. The explosion was the second such attack since 2008.

In July last year, over 50 people, including two Indian diplomats and two Indian security personnel, were killed in a similar suicide attack at the embassy.