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Six killed in Pakistan bombing

06/09/2008

At least six people have died and scores have been reported injured after a car bomb was detonated in north-west Pakistan.

The blast took place near a security checkpost in the city of Peshawar, the capital of the north-west frontier province.

A police officer told the AFP news agency: "According to latest reports six people were killed and dozens wounded.

"It was a bomb explosion. An explosive-laden vehicle blew up near the security checkpost. The force of the blast destroyed a nearby market, bringing the building down," he added.

No group has claimed responsibility yet for the blast.

The country's military has been fighting the local Taliban in the lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. In Swat, one of the country's prime tourist destinations located south of the difficult regions bordering Afghanistan, the military has also launched operations against religious leaders looking to institute Islamic rule.

The explosion comes as the country's parliament and its provincial assemblies were voting for the country's new president. Former president Pervez Musharraf resigned in August after the ruling coalition announced that they would try to impeach him from office.

Last week, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, formally withdrew from the coalition over repeated delays in the reinstatement of all the judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari, the widower of slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has been announced as the new president.