A powerful car bomb in Pakistan killed at least 20 people Tuesday and wounded more than 50 others. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but militants have carried out similar bombings in the flood-ravaged country in recent days that have left at least 130 people dead and dozens of others wounded.
Pakistani officials said a police residential complex in the northwestern city of Kohat was likely the latest target by militants.
Provincial Police Chief Fayyaz Tooru says families of police officers were breaking their daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when suspected militants detonated by remote-controlled a pick-up truck filled with some 300-kilograms of explosives.
"There were reportedly a couple of people who got down from the double-cabin [pickup truck] and they walked [away]. And then soon after their getting out of the scene, the double-cabin exploded," said Tooru.
The police chief said the powerful blast destroyed many homes in the area and damaged nearby buildings. He also said there are large numbers of women and children among the victims.
The attack came a day after a suicide car bomber targeted a police station in the same province [Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa], killing 19 people.
Last week, more than 100 people were killed in two suicide attacks in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Quetta. The Pakistan Taliban, also known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the violence. The militant group, which is linked to the al-Qaida terror network, has threatened to carry out more attacks on security forces because it said the Pakistani government is allowing the United States to carry out drone attacks in the northwestern tribal region.
The Pakistani Taliban is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.
