Blast in northwestern Pakistan kills 13

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PESHAWAR, (Pakistan), Sept 6 (AFP) A pickup truck packed with a large amount of explosives blew up a security checkpoint in Pakistan's volatile northwest Saturday, killing at least 13 people and injuring nearly 60 in an attack that may have been intended for a more important target, police said.brThe suicide attack occurred on the outskirts of Peshawar on the day Pakistani lawmakers voted for a new president, underscoring the challenges facing a country the US has pressured to crack down on insurgents.brTelevision footage showed a blast crater three feet deep and destroyed vehicles and pieces of debris scattered across a large area. Officials said many people were trapped under the rubble of damaged buildings in a nearby market. Civilians dug frantically with their hands in hopes of finding survivors. Nasirulmulk Bangash, a top police official in the area, said the vehicle carried at least 330 pounds of explosives - an amount he called unprecedented - and was apparently en route to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.brThe amount of explosives indicated the attack was aimed at a higher-value target than the small checkpoint, but might have been tripped up by high security on election day, Bangash said, without speculating on what the intended target might have been. At least 13 people died and nearly 60 were wounded, Bangash said. Several of the dead were believed to be police manning the post. At Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, officials said about 30 wounded people had come for treatment.brThey have got multiple wounds, physician Mohammad Idrees said. Some of them have their arms and legs broken, and others have got head injuries. We have declared an emergency here.brSher Zaman, 15, told The Associated Press from a hospital bed that he was selling fruit from a cart at the market when he heard a large explosion and was knocked down when something hit him in the chest. He said residents quickly gathered and helped transport casualties to hospitals. No one immediately claimed responsibility for Saturday's blast.brIn recent weeks, however, the Pakistani Taliban have said they were to blame for a string of suicide bombings they called revenge for military offensives in the northwest region, which borders Afghanistan. One attack killed nearly 70 people at a major weapons factory.brPakistan has struggled to contain rising militancy in its borders, and the fledgling government has tried both peace talks and military operations to stop the insurgents.brIt's an effort watched closely by the US, which says that militants have safe havens in Pakistan's northwest from which they plan attacks in neighboring Afghanistan.brA recent US-led ground cross-border assault on a Pakistani tribal region, said to have killed at least 15 people, prompted protests from the government and angered many Pakistanis.brAsif Ali Zardari, widower of slain ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, won the presidency. He has vowed to be tough on militancy.