Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ News / World/  Bus blast kills 15 govt employees in Pakistan’s Peshawar city
BackBack

Bus blast kills 15 govt employees in Pakistan’s Peshawar city

The attack took place on a main road after the bus picked up govt workers from districts surrounding Peshawar and was transporting them to work in the city

Pakistani police officials search a damaged bus after the bomb blast in Peshawar on Wednesday. The blast ripped through a bus carrying government employees. Photo: AFPPremium
Pakistani police officials search a damaged bus after the bomb blast in Peshawar on Wednesday. The blast ripped through a bus carrying government employees. Photo: AFP

Peshawar, Pakistan: At least 15 people were killed when a bomb exploded on a bus carrying government employees in the volatile northwest Pakistani frontier city of Peshawar on Wednesday, officials said.

The attack took place on a main road after the bus picked up government workers from districts surrounding Peshawar and was transporting them to work in the city.

Senior police official Mohammad Kashif said 15 people were killed and 35 wounded. A hospital official said the death toll was likely to rise.

The attack took place in an area where Pakistani security forces have stepped up their fight against the Taliban and other militant groups along the border with Afghanistan. This followed the massacre of 134 children at an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014.

Bomb disposal squad officials said 10kg of explosives were planted on the bus and further investigations were underway.

“It’s premature to comment about the nature of the blast but it appears that explosives were planted inside the bus," Kashif said. “There were 40-50 people on the bus."

The 35 wounded were taken to Peshawar’s main Lady ‎Reading Hospital, hospital spokesman Jamil Shah said.

“Emergency has been declared and all doctors have been called in ‎to handle trauma," he said. Many of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise, he said.

Attacks have fallen since the government crackdown after the 2014 school attack and the Taliban have been squeezed into small pockets of territory. However, militant groups remain able to launch sporadic attacks on security forces and civilian targets.

Two Pakistani employees of the US consulate in Peshawar and some soldiers were killed by a bomb while on a drug-eradication mission earlier this month. Reuters

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 16 Mar 2016, 10:49 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App