At least 30 people were killed at a busy market in northwest Pakistan after a bomb was placed inside the car of a local militia group tasked with fighting against the Taliban.
CNN reports the explosion occurred in the Jamrud Market in the Khyber near the Afghan border. The AP adds:
"There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but a local security official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the bombing bore the hallmarks of the Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistani military is believed to be conducting peace talks with the group, a splintered umbrella organization known as TTP, but insurgents have continued to carry out attacks.
"'The attack on pro-government tribesmen is part of the militant outfit TTP's campaign to avenge the killing of TTP members in this agency recently,' the official said, referring to insurgent deaths during a military offensive."
CNN adds that the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad condemned the attack, saying it showed, "extremists who plan and perpetrate these attacks show their contempt for the value of human life."
The bomb, according to the AP, was detonated near a bus terminal where many people were waiting to be picked up.
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