PESHAWAR: A suspected suicide bomb attack outside the Iranian consulate in Peshawar Monday killed two paramilitary soldiers and wounded ten others, officials said.
The bombing took place in the up-market University Town area of the northwestern city, where many non-government organisations (NGOs) are also based.
Police sources said a suspicious vehicle stopped near a security checkpost near the Iranian consul-general’s office, following which a blast was witnessed.
“We have two bodies of paramilitary soldiers and ten wounded have been admitted to hospital,” Farhad Khan, a spokesman for Khyber Teaching Hospital where the casualties were taken told AFP.
A senior police official, Mohammad Ejaz Ahmed, said it appeared to be a suicide bombing.
No group has yet claimed responsibility, but the Pakistani Taliban have carried out such attacks in the past.
Earlier this month Pakistan entered into talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) aimed at ending their seven-year insurgency.
But the militant group continued carrying out attacks on a near-daily basis, and the dialogue was suspended last week after the insurgents claimed they had executed 23 kidnapped soldiers in a northwestern tribal region.
Since then the air force has been carrying out attacks in the volatile tribal regions which border Afghanistan, killing dozens.
This is a developing story and will be updated as soon as further reports come in.
