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Bomb kills 24, wounds over 100 in NW Pakistan
A car bomb exploded outside a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 24 people in the latest attack by suspected militants apparently aimed at avenging an army offensive along the Afghan border.
The bombing, aimed at causing maximum civilian casualties, was the third blast in as many days in or close to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, an area bordering the tribal region where the army is pushing into a key Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuary.
The blast in Charsadda, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Peshawar, was caused by some 90 pounds (40 kilograms) of explosives stuffed into a van, said the senior police chief in Peshawar, Liaqat Ali Khan. Authorities were investigating whether the attack, which killed at least 24 people and wounded 102 others, was carried out by a suicide bomber, he said.
Rashid Kaka said he was returning from the mosque to his shop in the market when the bomb exploded, destroying stores on both sides of the road and knocking down electrical wires.