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Picture: (AFP/Tariq Mahmood)
Pakistani security personnel gather at the site of a blast on a bridge in Peshawar A powerful bomb blast ripped through a Pakistan air force bus in the northwestern city of Peshawar today, killing 13 people, including a girl and four military officials. The explosion destroyed the bus and two civilian cars as they passed over a bridge. An AFP photographer saw a large crater in which the mangled wreckage of the bus was lying, while the scene was spattered with blood. The blast happened at about the same time that legislators in northwest Pakistan approved a no-confidence motion in President Pervez Musharraf, deepening instability ahead of the expected impeachment of the key US ally. As a result of the bomb blast thirteen died and fifteen were injured. Four air force officials and a four-year-old girl were among the dead. The air force vehicle was used for carrying rations and was travelling from the Badaber base to Peshawar when it was hit by the bomb at about 11:00 am. The police chief of North West Frontier Province, Malik Naveed Khan, says the bomb appeared to have been remotely detonated. Investigators were seen gathering evidence and material from the blast site. Two damaged motorcycles and bicycles also lay at the scene along with scattered debris. Pakistani forces are currently engaged in major battles against Taliban fighters in the Bajaur tribal area near Peshawar, but it was not immediately clear if the attack was linked. MRN-AFP
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