Bombings Kill 40 In Pakistan

VOA News: At least 40 people were killed and many others were wounded by twin explosions in northwest Pakistan on Friday.

Officials say the blasts occurred in a busy market in the town of Parachinar in the Kurram tribal area near the border with Afghanistan.

The bombs exploded in the early evening when the market was crowded with shoppers buying food for their evening meal after a day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Riaz Mahsud, the top administrator of the Kurram region said 72 people were wounded. Some of them are in critical condition.

Police say at least one of the bombs was planted on a motorbike. It was followed shortly afterwards by a second blast.

It was not immediately clear who is responsible for the attacks. Sectarian violence is on the rise in Pakistan, where hardline Sunni groups frequently attack Shi’ites whom they see as heretics.

Parachinar is home to a significant Shi’ite community which has been previously targeted by Sunni militants.

Pakistan has suffered several bomb attacks since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sworn in last month. His government has pledged to curb sectarian violence as well as a renewed Taliban insurgency.