20 killed in blast outside Pakistan police station (Second Lead)

ISLAMABAD - At least 20 people were killed and 15 injured in a suicide blast targeting a police station in Bannu district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Wednesday evening, officials said.

“The suicide bomber hit the outer wall of Marian police station with an explosives-laden vehicle,” Express TV channel reported quoting security officials.

“Twelve security officials and eight civilians are among the casualties,” said Commissioner Bannu Khalid Umarzai.

“A nearby mosque was severely damaged and several worshippers were buried under the rubble,” security officials said, adding that the death toll could rise.

Rescue teams are facing difficulties because of the remote location of the blast site. Emergency has been declared in hospitals of the area.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, two back-to-back blasts in Panchgai area of Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed two women.

“The blast targeted a van of a private school, killing two female teachers while five people, including three children were injured,” Samaa TV reported.

Peshawar capital city police officer (CCPO) Liaqat Ali said the injured were shifted to hospital while investigation into the blasts have begun.

Provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told DPA: “We are making efforts to complete the rescue work as early as possible.”

The rescuers were, however, facing difficulties due to night fall.

The restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the northwestern tribal region have become a battleground for security officials against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants.