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Islamabad — At least 23 people have been killed and another 73 wounded after a bomb ripped through a fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital Islamabad, hospital and security officials have said.The bomb exploded around 08:30am local time yesterday morning at the wholesale Sabzi Mandi market, in the Pir Wadai area between Islamabad and its twin city, Rawalpindi.
Police and rescue services rushed to the site of the blast, where the victims’ remains were strewn among crates of guavas. The destruction was centred around a bomb crater two metres wide.
Police at the scene told Al Jazeera their initial investigations indicated that approximately five kilograms of explosives had been placed in one of the crates, and had been set off by remote-control.
The wounded were rushed to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad’s main medical facility, and the nearby Holy Family hospital.
“I live near the market, and so I rushed to the scene when I heard the explosion. I saw several dead bodies on the floor, and many people in a horrible state,” said Gul Muhammad, 64, who works at the market.
“I was so upset by what I saw that I had to get away from the place. I went and sat in this shed,” he said, pointing to a nearby shack, “and just held my head in my hands.”
Obaidullah, 15, a labourer in the market, was just a few metres away from the site of the blast when it occurred. “People’s whole bodies were covered in blood when they were running away,” he said.
The attack came 24 hours before a 40-day ceasefire declared by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was due to expire.
The TTP and the Pakistani government have been holding talks, with the cessation of attacks carried out by the TTP seen as a key marker of the process’s success. — AP
Online Reporter