Peshawar blast toll touches 39

The death toll in a blast that hit Pakistan's northwest Peshawar city Sunday morning has risen to 39, Xinhua reported citing a local hospital official.

Local media quoted the chief executive of Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, which admitted all the blast victims, as saying that those killed include six children and three women.

Over 100 others were injured in the blast, said the hospital official.

The deadly blast took place at about 10.50 a.m. at Qissa Khawani Bazar, one of the busiest markets in Peshawar.

Local media reported that 12 members of a family who happened to be shopping in the market were killed.

The bomb was planted inside a car parked about 20 metres away from a police station in the market and it was detonated through a remote-controlled device, said police.

No policeman has been killed or injured in the blast.

Shafqat Malik, assistant inspector general of the bomb disposal squad, said an estimated 200 kg of explosives were used in the bomb.

The huge blast destroyed nearly 20 shops and six vehicles in the nearby area, said local media.

It took a long time for the firefighters to put out the fires caused by the blast, said the report.

Both Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have strongly condemned the bomb attack.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sunday's blast in Peshawar is the third serious terrorist attack in the city over the past week.

A twin suicide bomb attack Sep 22 on a Christian church in Peshawar, claimed more than 80 lives, triggering a nationwide protest.

A bus carrying local government employees was blown up by a bomb planted inside it Friday, leaving at least 19 people dead.