Militants targeted the US Consulate in Peshawar today with multiple bombs and gun attacks as renewed violence in north-western Pakistan left more than 40 people dead.
Gunmen wearing paramilitary uniforms opened fire outside the consulate from two vehicles before the explosions that shook the high-security district, which also houses key government offices. Bashir Bilour, a senior provincial minister, said at least four attackers were killed by the security forces. He said several unexploded suicide jackets and a large quantity of explosive was also recovered from the scene.
A spokesman for the US Embassy in Islamabad said that the consulate was attacked, but gave no details. At least four US security guards were also injured. The US consulate has been attacked several times in the past.
Local television footage showed soldiers taking up positions around the consulate which was covered with grey smoke. Military helicopters circled the area which was cordoned off by the security forces. At least seven people were killed and several others injured in the attack.
The blasts in Peshawar came hours after a suicide bomb attack on a political party rally in lower Dir district killed at least 36 people. A lone suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the rally organized by Awami National Party, which rules the North Western Frontier Province. The rally was taken out to celebrate the renaming of the province to Kyber-Pakhtinkhawa.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The Pakistani Army seized the control of Lower Dir, a militant stronghold, few months ago. Mohammed Jamil, the regional police chief said the attack was thought to have been carried out by the Taleban.
Hundreds of people have been killed in past months in north-western Pakistan in violence carried out by al-Qaeda and Taleban militants. The violence has surged after the Pakistani army launched an offensive in South Waziristan, an al-Qaeda stronghold along the border with Afghanistan.
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