Islamabad: Two Americans were killed when an explosives-laden car rammed a vehicle leaving the US Consulate in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday, a report said.
The incident occurred a short distance from the US Consulate and an office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at Aabdara Road in University Town, Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
There was some confusion over the toll with initial media reports putting the deaths at three in the blast that took place close to the UN refugee agency office.
About 12 injured, including several foreigners, were taken to nearby hospitals, police and witnesses said.
Local TV footage showed an SUV at the site that was completely destroyed and burned. All that was left was a carcass of blackened, twisted metal.
A half-burnt US passport was recovered from the car that was badly damaged in the blast.
Several foreign organisations, including the UN, have offices in the area where the attack occurred. Security forces cordoned off the area after the blast.
Police estimated that up to 100 kg of explosives material was used in the terror attack that left a big crater in the road and destroyed a Jeep. The walls of four nearby houses were damaged.
The bombing took place barely four days after at least nine people, including two children, were killed and over 20 injured in a bomb blast in an auto workshop in Mattni Bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar.
Sources told Dawn that threats had been received two days ago about an attack on the US consulate after which security had been heightened.
Peshawar is located near Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al Qaeda militants in the country. The city has been hit by scores of bombings in recent years, but attacks against American targets are relatively rare, likely because of the extensive security measures taken by the US government.
Pakistan: Car bombing in Peshawar kills `two Americans`
The incident occurred a short distance from the US Consulate and an office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at Aabdara Road in University Town, Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
There was some confusion over the toll with initial media reports putting the deaths at three in the blast that took place close to the UN refugee agency office.
About 12 injured, including several foreigners, were taken to nearby hospitals, police and witnesses said.
Local TV footage showed an SUV at the site that was completely destroyed and burned. All that was left was a carcass of blackened, twisted metal.
A half-burnt US passport was recovered from the car that was badly damaged in the blast.
Several foreign organisations, including the UN, have offices in the area where the attack occurred. Security forces cordoned off the area after the blast.
Police estimated that up to 100 kg of explosives material was used in the terror attack that left a big crater in the road and destroyed a Jeep. The walls of four nearby houses were damaged.
The bombing took place barely four days after at least nine people, including two children, were killed and over 20 injured in a bomb blast in an auto workshop in Mattni Bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar.
Sources told Dawn that threats had been received two days ago about an attack on the US consulate after which security had been heightened.
Peshawar is located near Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al Qaeda militants in the country. The city has been hit by scores of bombings in recent years, but attacks against American targets are relatively rare, likely because of the extensive security measures taken by the US government.
Pakistan: Car bombing in Peshawar kills `two Americans`
