Deadly blast hits Khyber region

2012-01-10 121

PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION.
At least 23 people are dead and 26 wounded in a bomb blast near a fuel station in the northwestern tribal Khyber region of Pakistan.
Local sources said members of the pro-government Zakhakhel tribal militia were the intended target. Members of the militia were filling up their cars when the explosion happened.
Witnesses said the blast was huge and caused damage to a number of vehicles at a nearby bus terminal.
Officials said there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Pakistani forces have targeted militants in Khyber, including the Pakistani Taliban, for more than four years.
The bombing comes amid conflicting reports of peace talks between the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistani government.
The TTP, which is allied to the Afghanistan Taliban, is an umbrella group of several militant organisations entrenched in the unruly tribal areas along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.