Peshawar, Nov 23 : A powerful bomb blast ripped through a busy market outside a religious seminary in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, killing at least 25 people and injuring over 35 others, officials said.
The explosive material was planted in the Friday Market (Juma Bazar) near an imambargah, a Shia religious place, in Aurakzai tribal district's Kalaya area outside.
At least 25 people were killed while more than 35 others injured, Geo news quoted district administration officials as saying.
Officials said that most of the victims were minority Shia Muslims. The area has been cordoned off and investigation into the incident is under way.
An emergency has been declared in the region's hospitals to handle the situation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police are on high alert following the Orakzai blast and a separate attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi on Friday morning. "Our enemies are not happy with peace in the province," provincial Chief Minister Mehmood Khan said after the attack.
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Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Two people were killed, and another was severely injured after a goods vehicle transporting poultry birds allegedly rammed into a stationary truck on a national highway in Belagavi in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Wasim (28) and Mubarak (22), both natives of Shivamogga district, they said.
The driver of the vehicle, Basavaraj Eerappa Hanchinamani (37), suffered critical injuries and has been admitted to a hospital, police said.
According to police, the accident occurred when the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, allegedly due to drowsiness, and crashed into a truck parked along the highway.
The goods vehicle was en route from Kolhapur to Sorab in Shivamogga district, carrying poultry. Several chickens were also killed in the impact, a senior police officer said.
Police personnel from the Hirebagewadi Police Station visited the spot and conducted an inspection.
Injured people and the bodies of the deceased were shifted to a hospital, police added.
