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At least 32 people, including three Pakistani-Sikhs, were killed and more than 40 wounded on Friday when a suicide bombing unleashed a powerful bomb attack on a busy market outside the city. a religious seminar in the troubled province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said.
According to the initial investigation, an improvised explosive device would have been placed on a bike used to transport vegetables to the popular Friday market (Juma Bazar), near an imambargah, shiite place of worship, in the area of Kalaya, tribal district of Orakzai, on the border of Afghanistan.
"It's a Friday bazaar, where hundreds of people have gathered to do their shopping," said Deputy Commissioner Khalid Iqbal.
"The soil is then used for Friday prayers as well," he added.
At least 32 people were killed and more than 40 wounded, district administration officials said, quoted by Dawn News.
"Three Sikh traders and three children were also among the dead in the Orakzai explosion," Iqbal told PTI.
The Sikh minority community in the region had already been displaced by the Taliban who controlled the area prior to the 2010 military operation, Samaa TV reported.
Officials said that most of the victims were Shia Muslim minorities, who were also targeted in the past.
"Three children were killed and the remote controlled bomb was attached to a motorcycle," officials said.
"I was buying vegetables remotely from the bomb site," said Karam Khan, who accompanied a wounded to Kohat hospital.
"There was a huge explosion and I woke up with blood splattering everywhere and there were body parts everywhere," he said of the bloody scene.
The area has been cordoned off and an investigation into the incident is underway.
An emergency has been declared in hospitals in the region to manage the situation.
The explosion in Lower Orakzai is the second terrorist attack perpetrated in Pakistan on Friday. Earlier this morning, security forces foiled an attack on the Chinese consulate in the Clifton area of Karachi. Four people, including two members of the security forces and two civilians, were killed in the attack. Three terrorists were also shot dead.
Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the tribal area of Orakzai and said: "My prayers are going to the victims and their families".
"Let no one doubt that we are going to crush the terrorists, no matter what it takes," he said in a tweet.
The human rights minister, Shireen Mazari, blamed the attack on US failure in Afghanistan and warned Pakistan to be prepared for other incidents of this. type.
She condemned the horrific terrorist attack.
"While the United States is failing in Afghanistan, Pakistan should be prepared for disaster and we need to ensure greater security for our tribal areas, including the protection of our people," she tweeted.
Up to now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban militants often lead such attacks.
"Our enemies are not happy with the peace in the province," said the provincial prime minister, Mehmood Khan, during the condemnation of the attack.
In 2011, 30 people, including 10 policemen, were killed and more than 50 injured when a suicide bomber struck his van laden with explosives in the building of the Department of Communication and Public Works.
Orakzai, high place of terror, is one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal areas of Pakistan, which has a partial border with Afghanistan.
