Peshawar, April 05: Five massive bomb blasts – three in the vicinity of American consulate – rocked Pakistan’s frontier town Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 10 people.
As per initial reports, heavily-armed gunmen have also launched a ground attack on the fortified consulate in Peshawar, said police officer Aziz Khan.
Gun shots are being continuously heard from the Sadar area of the city which, apart from the US consulate, houses many other important government offices.
Although no official confirmation is available on the nature of the blasts, yet at least one blast is said to be caused by a car bomb.
There are also reports that the US consulate has been partially damaged in the attack.
The security forces have completely cordoned off the area. Ambulances have been seen rushing in. The media has been kept at a safe distance purportedly to prevent them from covering the counter operation live.
Local TV footage showed soldiers taking up defensive positions on the road outside the consulate. One soldier hit the ground in the middle of the road and began firing as a large explosion sent up a plume of gray smoke nearby.
Rescue workers carried at least one wounded man away on a stretcher, his clothing soaked with blood.
The series of bomb blasts in Peshawar came within hours of a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up at a political function of the ethnic Pashtun nationalist political party in the northwest district of Pakistan, killing at least 38 people and injuring over 100.
—Agencies