Pak blast toll rises to 36
The death toll in a devastating suicide car bomb attack in Northwest Pakistan on Friday rose to 36 as more bodies were pulled out of the rubble of buildings that collapsed when the attacker detonated his explosives-laden vehicle in a congested area of Hangu city.
Two more bodies were retrieved from the debris today, officials in Hangu said. At least 10 policemen were among the dead.
Over 50 people were injured in the deadly attack carried out by the Pakistani Taliban to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden in a US raid on May 2.
The bomber detonated his explosives near several government offices and a court complex in the heart of Hangu city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Deputy inspector general of police Masood Afridi said an estimated 450 kg of explosives was used in the attack.
The condition of several of the injured is critical and officials said they feared the death toll may rise further.
The powerful blast severely damaged several government buildings, including the offices of the district police chief and the district administration chief.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan accepted responsibility for this attack in phone calls to reporters.
He warned the Taliban would soon carry out "bigger attacks" as revenge for Bin Laden's killing.
Cities across Pakistan have witnessed a string of deadly attacks in the wake of the Al Qaeda chief's death.
Earlier, two suicide bombers blew themselves upoutside a paramilitary training facility in the country’s Northwest, killing nearly 90 people.
Then a group of heavily armed terrorists stormed a naval airbase in Karachi on Sunday, sparking a 17-hour standoff that killed 10 security personnel and destroyed two P3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft.
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