Peshawar:
A bomb exploded on a bus carrying government employees in restive northwest Pakistan today, killing at least 17 people and wounding nearly 50 others, officials said.
The incident happened in Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has been hit by numerous bomb and gun attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents in recent years.
"The bomb was planted inside the bus. At the moment, the death of 17 people have been confirmed while 47 were wounded," Zahirul Islam, deputy commissioner of Peshawar, told AFP.
Senior police official Rahim Shah confirmed that the bomb was planted inside the passenger bus, which was taking government staff home to the town of Charsadda after work.
Nine dead bodies have been taken to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar while eight bodies have been taken to a government hospital in Charsadda.
The target was government employees, Sahibzada Mohammad Anis, the commissioner of Peshawar, told AFP.
Peshawar lies close to Pakistan's lawless tribal districts along the Afghan border, which are a haven for Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.
On Sunday a double suicide bombing at a church in the city killed 82 people in an attack that shocked even Pakistan.