DERA GHAZI KHAN: At least 34 people have been killed and 60 wounded in an explosion in a downtown area, reported ARY NEWS.The blast ripped through a market at the home of politician Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Punjab chapter, in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan on Tuesday.
It was the latest in a series of suicide and other explosions that have killed more than 500 people in the country since October. The bloodshed has been blamed on Taliban retaliating for an army offensive against the militants in the country's northwest.
Local commissioner Hasan Iqbal said Tuesday's explosion appeared to be a car bomb that exploded at the main entrance of Khosa’s house. The deceased also included a number of women and children, it was reported.
Preliminary investigations say that a suicide car bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the main gate of Khosa House.
No one was present in the house at the time of explosion, Dost Muhammad, Khosa’s son and former Chief Minister Punjab told ARY NEWS. He said the family had received no threat from Taliban militants.
At least 10 shops of the market were completely destroyed in the blast. Local officials said several people were trapped under the debris of a collapsed structure who were later evacuated and rushed to district hospital.
Heavy contingents of police and other law enforcement agencies rushed the scene and cordoned off the area soon after the blast.
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