Security officials inspect the bombsite at the vegetable market in Parachinar. PHOTO: AFP

PARACHINAR: A bomb tore through a crowded vegetable market in a tribal region on Saturday morning, killing and maiming dozens of people and breaking a relatively long lull in terrorist violence in the region.

Two terrorist groups — the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Alami — claimed they had coordinated the attack in the vegetable market, situated in the Eidgah Market area of Parachinar, the main town of Kurram Agency.

While the Eidgah Market area has seen four terrorist attacks thus far, it was the second deadly bombing in the vegetable market. In December 2015, at least 23 people had been killed in a similar blast at the same market.

The region’s top administrator confirmed 25 people were killed and 87 wounded in Saturday’s blast, revising an earlier toll given by the military. “The blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) which was hidden in a vegetable crate and remotely detonated,” Political Agent Ikramullah Khan told The Express Tribune.

Over 20 killed in Parachinar vegetable market blast

“The blast brought down the concrete shed at the market, burying several people underneath the debris,” said witness Ali Hussain. “There was no ambulance, and people had to carry the injured in cars and private pickup trucks to the hospital,” he told The Express Tribune. “The victims were mostly vendors and passersby.”

Forensic experts from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police found traces of the IED at the bombsite, according to the political agent. “We believe the vegetable crates were brought to the market from outside the agency, and the trail will lead us to the culprits,” he added.

A police official said the device weighed around 18 kilos.

Television footage from the site showed chaotic scenes with people running and shouting in panic and victims strewn in front of vegetables shops among smashed crates and pushcarts. The victims could be heard screaming while ambulances arrived at the site with sirens blaring.

Initially, the casualties were driven to the agency headquarters hospital, which doesn’t have the wherewithal to deal with an emergency of such magnitude. Subsequently, 13 people with life-threatening wounds were airlifted in army helicopters to the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar, while another eight were shifted by road, the ISPR said in a statement.

The directorate of health services of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas confirmed 24 people injured have been referred to hospitals in Peshawar. Imtiaz Hussain, who accompanied an injured relative to Peshawar, claimed that more than 15 injured were in a critical condition.

A military official said the quick response force of the paramilitary Frontier Corps and Kurram Militia reached the site immediately and carried out relief and rescue operation. The mass funeral for the victims was held in Parachinar which was attended by IGFC Maj Gen Shaheen Mazhar Mehmood and religious and political leaders of the agency.

Kurram Agency had been a hotbed of sectarian violence, but of late harmony was restored between the Shia and Sunni communities due to concerted efforts by the authorities. The bombing came at a time when tribesmen from both communities, who had fled communal violence, are returning to their native towns.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over the latest loss of life, his office said in a statement. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed the authorities to submit a detailed report on the tragic incident.

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Pakistan’s battle against the Taliban insurgency began in 2004 after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan forced militants to flee across the border. Pakistan Army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in the tribal regions and bring an end to a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004.

It has conducted a series of military offensives as well as concerted efforts to block militants’ sources of funding. Last year the country recorded its lowest number of killings since 2007 when the TTP was formed. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks.

(With additional input by AFP)