Across Asia: Pakistan

20 killed in blast

A suspected car bomb exploded outside a crowded market in northwest Pakistan yesterday, killing 20 people in the latest attack by suspected militants apparently aimed at avenging an army offensive along the Afghan border.

The bombing was the third blast in as many days in or close to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province. It took place in Charsadda, some 40 km north of Peshawar, destroying scores of shops on both sides of the road and knocked down electrical wires.