Peshawar: A car bomb in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Friday targeted a US consulate convoy but caused no American deaths or serious injuries, said US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez.
One passerby was killed and 10 Pakistanis were wounded, said a hospital official. One American was slightly wounded in the attack in the northwestern city.
The two consulate vehicles were heading to the consulate when one of the vehicles was hit by the blast, the latest in an upsurge of violence since Osama bin Laden was killed this month.
Al Qaeda and its ally, the Pakistani Taliban movement, have vowed to avenge the killing of bin Laden in the country on May 2 by US special forces.
The attack took place on a main road in the northwestern city. The car used in the attack was parked on a road when the bomb exploded, forcing the consulate vehicle to slam into an electricity pole, said the police official.
"There was an attack on a two-car convoy from the consulate in Peshawar. One car was hit. We are still investigating what actually happened," said Rodriguez.
US ally Pakistan has witnessed a jump in violence since al Qaeda and the Pakistan Taliban made their threat, including a twin suicide bombing last week that killed more than 80 people, most of them paramilitary recruits.
The Pakistani Taliban have kept up pressure on the government with suicide attacks despite several army offensives on their strongholds in the northwest.
Comments
0 comment