At least 13 people -- including a local councillor heading an anti-Taliban lashkar -- were killed and 44 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a cattle market in Adezai village on Monday, said hospital sources and police. Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) figures showed that 44 injured people and 13 bodies were brought to the hospital, while nine of those injured are said to be in critical condition.
Peshawar SSP (Operations) Muhammad Karim Khan told Daily Times that 12 people died and 35 were injured. He said that around eight-to-10 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the blast. The bomber struck at around 9:45am when Nazim Haji Abdul Malik and other people stepped out of his vehicle in the cattle market -- 25 kilometres south of the city.
Abdul was taken to LRH, where he later died -- while his son Noor Malik was injured. A senior lashkar leader was also killed in the attack.
A handout by the Peshawar DCO said initial reports suggested that the attack was directed against the nazim.
A police official told Daily Times the legs of the bomber had been found. Police and FC cordoned off the site of the blast, and bazaars in Mattani and Adezai were shuttered.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.