A suspected suicide bomb attack outside the Iranian consulate here on Monday killed two paramilitary soldiers and wounded 10 others, officials said. The bombing took place in the upmarket University Town area of the north-western city, where many non-government organisations are also based.
"We have two bodies of paramilitary soldiers and 10 wounded have been admitted to hospital," said Farhad Khan, a spokesman for Khyber Teaching Hospital where the casualties were taken. A senior police official, Mohammad Ejaz Ahmed, said it appeared to be a suicide bombing. He said other paramilitary soldiers in the area fired in the air in panic after the bombing.
No group has yet claimed responsibility, but the Pakistani Taliban have carried out such attacks in the past. Iran's foreign ministry strongly condemned the bombing in a statement, the state broadcaster reported. Its spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham called for "close co-operation" of regional countries to combat the "spread of terror acts and extremism, particularly (attacks) against diplomatic missions."