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Deadly blast hits Pakistan market Deadly blast hits Pakistan market
(31 minutes later)
At least five people have been killed in a bomb blast at a market near the north-western Pakistani town of Kohat. At least 10 people have been killed and many injured in a suicide car bomb attack at a village market in north-west Pakistan, police say.
The explosion is said to have taken place at a roadside restaurant on the main road linking the towns of Hangu and Kohat. The explosion is said to have taken place at a busy intersection close to the garrison town of Kohat.
Vehicles and shops on the roadside are said to have been badly damaged by the force of the blast. Vehicles and shops in the area are said to have been badly damaged by the force of the blast.
Taliban militants threatened to avenge last month's killing of their chief commander, Baitullah Mehsud. The village is close to the Orakzai tribal region, a stronghold of the Taliban's present chief.
Police officials said many people had been injured by the explosion. It is still unclear exactly how the bomb was detonated, police say. Hakimullah Mehsud took over as chief of the Pakistani Taliban after his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed by a US missile strike.
Shia village
Police officials said many people had been injured by the explosion and they expect casualty figures to rise.
Witnesses say the blast nearly demolished one building in the area.
Media reports say that rescuers are trying to pull people from the rubble.Media reports say that rescuers are trying to pull people from the rubble.
Kohat is an important garrison town in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), just 60km (40 miles) south of Peshawar. Astarzai village, where the blast took place, is a Shia-majority area and many Shia Muslims run businesses there. It lies 18km west of the town of Kohat.
It is close to Pakistan's semi-tribal districts where Taliban militants are active and the government has little control. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that Sunni militants in the area have carried out frequent attacks on minority Shias.
Correspondents say the Taliban in Kohat have in the past mostly confined their activities to opposing music and barber shops. Sunni Muslims account for around 80% of Pakistan's population and are the dominant group in the tribal areas, although Orakzai has significant Shia numbers.
But there have been a series of major bomb attacks on targets across the NWFP within the last month. Pakistan's army has been bombing Taliban hideouts in Orakzai for the past month, correspondents say.
There were reports of more aerial bombings in the area on Friday morning, shortly before the bomb attack.
The last month has seen a series of major attacks on targets across the NWFP.
On 30 August a suspected suicide bomb attack in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley killed at least 14 police recruits and injured others.On 30 August a suspected suicide bomb attack in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley killed at least 14 police recruits and injured others.


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