Bombing at open-air market wounds 20 in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – At least 20 people were wounded when a bomb went off at a busy open-air market in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, police said.

The bombing in the town of Parachinar happened as people were buying fruits and vegetables from vendors, police official Rehmat Hissain said. The victims, some of them in critical condition, have been taken to hospital.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in this majority Shiite town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. The town, west of the provincial capital of Peshawar, has been targeted by Sunni militant groups several times in recent years, leaving dozens dead.

The province’s former tribal regions have long served as hideouts for the Taliban and other militants. The government and the army claim they have cleared the area in recent years but there have still been occasional attacks.