8 killed, 21 hurt in Bajaur Agency blast

KHAR: A bomb tore through a busy market in Salarzai Tehsil of Bajaur Agency on Thursday, killing at least eight people, including two children, officials said.

Twenty-one others were wounded when the device, planted in a pick-up truck, exploded in Pasht bazaar of Salarzai in Bajaur district, one of the toughest battlegrounds in Pakistan's fight against the Taliban in the northwest.

"There are eight bodies and 21 wounded brought to hospital," Doctor Khalilur Rehman told.

Two children aged eight and 13 were among the dead and four children aged five to 11 were among the injured, he said.

Five shops were also destroyed due to impact. Security forces cordoned off the area while the locals along with rescue teams are transferring the bodies and injured to the hospital.

Nobody claimed the responsibility for the bombing, but the Taliban have carried out several attacks against Salarzai tribesmen for forming pro-government militias and supporting military operations.