Peshawar bombing kills 87, injures 200

eshawar, Oct 28 (IANS) More than 80 people were killed in one of the most horrific terror attacks in Pakistan this year when a massive bomb blast tore through a bustling market here Wednesday, 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.