Car Bomb Explodes in Pakistan Minibus Terminal, Killing 12 and injuring 32
An outdoor minibus terminal was the target of a militant who filled a car with 100 pounds of explosives and detonated it. The car bomb killed 12 people, while another 32 people were injured. One of the dead was a young child.
There were many vehicles that were waiting to pick up passengers at the terminal. The blast tore through them and tossed them as if the vehicles didn’t weight anything. The passengers were waiting to be transported from Peshawar to other regions of Pakistan. Many of the minibuses were completely destroyed, blackened and shredded from the force of the blast.
Peshawar is near the country’s tribal region. It is considered one of the Pakistan Taliban’s main sanctuaries. The Pakistan Taliban is constantly at war with the Pakistan government and attacks by the Taliban are common against civilians.
The violence in Afghanistan has dropped off in Peshawar, as well as in other regions of the country. The Pakistan army and NATO forces have brought an offensive against the Pakistan Taliban in this northwestern part of Afghanistan.
Attacks by the Taliban or other militant groups, though, still happen almost daily. The rescue and emergency workers who responded to the bus terminal transported the injured and the dead to a local hospital. Some of the victims are severely injured and it’s possible that the death toll might rise.
The terminal is located in a very busy area of the city. Just before the bomb exploded, there was a rush of passengers that were attempting to board the minibuses. The Pakistan Taliban has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack; however, there are few that believe it was another group’s responsibility.
The Pakistan Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the Afghan Taliban have spent the last several years attacking the Afghan government, as well as NATO coalition forces.
