Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Bomb Kills 80 as Clinton Arrives in Pakistan

More than 100 injured in attack on family market in Peshawar

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 28, 2009 7:55 AM CDT
Email

(Newser) – At least 80 people were killed today when a bomb ripped through a busy market in Peshawar, hours after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the country to show American support for its campaign against Islamist militants. Clinton, on her first official visit to the country as secretary of state, was three hours away in Islamabad at the time of the attack. Many others were injured and the death toll is expected to rise, doctors tell AP. The market is reserved for families, and many of the dead are women.

Several structures and a mosque were badly damaged in the bombing, and a blaze engulfed a building, a witness told Reuters. Militant attacks have soared since the Pakistani military began an offensive against the Taliban's Waziristan sanctuary earlier this month. "It is important for Americans and others to recognize the high price the Pakistanis are paying” in the fight against Islamic extremists, Clinton told reporters earlier today.

Pakistani rescue volunteers rush injured person to a hospital after an explosion in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.
Pakistani rescue volunteers rush injured person to a hospital after an explosion in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
An injured person is seen at the site of an explosion at a market place in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.
An injured person is seen at the site of an explosion at a market place in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
Pakistani soldiers surround the spot of a suicide attack in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Pakistani soldiers surround the spot of a suicide attack in Peshawar, Pakistan.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
People gather at the site of a car bombing in a market place in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.
People gather at the site of a car bombing in a market place in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
People gather at the site of an explosion in a market popular with women in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.
People gather at the site of an explosion in a market popular with women in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
Ucantusethatname
Oct 28, 2009 11:02 AM CDT
Enough killing. There is no potential win here. Containment of the Taliban is the only logical possibility. Otherwise, bring the troops home. What's to think about anymore? Indecision could implode Obamessiah's reign.
njgreen
Oct 28, 2009 1:25 AM CDT
We have to see this for what it is: a civil war. Winning it will require a long, bloody counter-insurgency - possibly decades. The stakes are extremely high because of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. If the Taliban and Al Qaeda win and get that arsenal, the U.S. will be facing the greatest danger in its history. There is no turning back. We need to work with Pakistan. We need to work with India. We need to get out of Iraq. We need to create a Palestinian state so that its absence is no longer a rallying cry for our enemies. We need to win in Afghanistan. In short, we must be prepared to put in what may be decades worth of sacrifice in both blood and treasure in order to win this. The alternative is unthinkable.

 
Hillary Clinton • Taliban • Pakistan • Peshawar • bombing • Waziristan • Islamist extremists • North West Frontier Province

More Newser Stories

US, Afghanistan, Taliban: Secret Talks Under Way

US Kills Taliban Commander With al-Qaeda Ties

Backed By Pakistan, Taliban Set to Retake Afghanistan

US-Taliban Talks Stumble

Marines in Urination Video ID'd
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne