Pakistan refugee camp hit by deadly bombing
At least 12 people killed in blast in refugee camp for internally displaced people near city of Peshawar, police say.
A car bomb tore through a camp for internally displaced people in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 12 people and wounding 18 others, police has said.
The bomb went off on Thursday at the Jalozai refugee camp close to the city of Peshawar, which is home to people fleeing unrest in tribal districts bordering Afghanistan that are a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked fighters.
Live television footage showed ambulances taking the victims to hospital. The bomb left a crater and police were sifting through the wreckage of mangled cars to collect evidence.
Fuad Khan, police official responsible for security of the camp, said: “The bomb exploded in a car parked near the administration office where refugees had lined up to get ration and new arrivals were being registered.”
“Several camps in the vicinity of administration office were also ripped off by the bomb blast,” Khan told AFP news agency.
“I saw about 20 casualties around me as the smoke and dust cleared, but cannot say how many were dead and wounded,” Khan said.
Jalozai, an enormous camp that once hosted Afghan refugees, now houses Pakistani tribesmen fleeing unrest in the Khyber, Bajaur and Mohmand tribal districts.