Pakistani bus bombing leaves 18 dead, 34 injued

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 18 people have been killed in a bomb attack on a bus carrying government employees in north west Pakistan, BBC News reported.

The vehicle is said to have been taking the workers to their offices when it was hit on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar.

At least 34 people are also thought to have been injured in the incident.

Peshawar lies near Pakistan's lawless tribal belt - a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

Hundreds have died in attacks in and around the city in recent years.

No group has so far said it carried out the latest attack, but it comes a day after a bomb killed at least 15 people in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

It is believed explosives were planted in a roadside vehicle and remotely detonated as the bus passed on Friday.

Witnesses said the explosion seemed to hit the back of the bus, which was moving at speed and drove on for some distance after the blast.

Police say the bus was carrying employees from Peshawar to Charsadda and that it appeared to be the target of the attack.

The explosion took place near a police station on a main road in the Gul Bela village area, on the northern outskirts of Peshawar.

The dead and injured were rushed to hospitals in Peshawar. The dead are thought to include at least four children and some women.