PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Suicide bomb blasts tore through a busy market in a volatile tribal region of Pakistan on Friday, killing more than 65 people in an attack that illustrated the Taliban’s potency despite several recent military offensives against the insurgents.
The explosions took place in the village of Yaka Ghund outside the offices of a senior administrator for the Mohmand tribal region, police said. At least 112 people were injured. Authorities said one of the bombers was on a motorcycle, while the other detonated a Toyota Corolla sedan filled with explosives.
The intended target remained unclear. A large crowd lining up for new national identity cards had gathered at government offices in Yaka Ghund’s main bazaar, and the bazaar itself was filled with midmorning customers. Government offices and bustling markets have often been targeted in Taliban suicide bomb attacks.
However, Pakistani television channels reported that members of a local “lashkar,” or anti-Taliban tribal militia, had been meeting in the vicinity when the blast occurred and might have been the intended target.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that the Taliban had taken responsibility for the attack.
Munir Khan, a shopkeeper at the market, said his store was just a few yards from the blast site.
“It was a huge blast, and there was total destruction everywhere,” Khan said. “I saw injured people on the ground and dead bodies burned beyond recognition.”
The explosion left a crater 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep.
Rasool Khan, the Mohmand administrator, said authorities were expecting the death toll to rise as rescue workers continued to sift through the rubble.
Mohmand is one of several tribal regions along the Afghan border where Taliban and al-Qaeda militants continue to seek sanctuary.
