Blast Leaves at Least 20 Killed, Dozens Wounded in Pakistan Market

A bomb exploded in a crowded market in north-western Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens of others, officials said. 
The blast, believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device, occurred in a crowded vegetable market in Parachinar in Kurrum Agency, located near the Afghan border. 
"At least 20 people have been killed and over 50 are injured," said Sabir Hussain, a doctor at the Kurrum Agency Headquarters Hospital. 
Fifteen critically injured people were moved to a neighbouring province for treatment, Hussain added. 
A state of emergency was declared in the area, said local official Ikramullah Khan. 
No group has claimed the responsibility of the attack so far. 
A quick reaction force had reached the site and cordoned off the area, the military's media department said. Helicopters were transferring the injured to hospitals, the military added. 
Political leaders condemned the blast and the killing of innocent people and Interior Minister Chauhdry Nisar Ali Khan ordered a detailed report into the incident. 
Kurrum is one of the seven semi-autonomous agencies of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in north-western Pakistan. 
The agency is a sensitive tribal areas which borders Afghan provinces and was once a stronghold of the Taliban until 2008 when the Pakistani army launched an operation to flush out militants.

Source: QNA