The blast occurred near a busy market in Peshawar  [EPA]

At least 40 people have been killed and scores wounded after a car packed with explosives exploded near a market in Pakistan’s northwest city of Peshawar, officials have said.

Local officials and police said the attack, the second in Peshawar in two weeks, occurred in the famous Khyber Bazaar area on Friday.

 Syed Zahir Shah, the provincial health minister, said: “At least 42 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the  blast.”

Mehboob Ali, a doctor at a local hospital, confirmed the toll and put  the number of wounded at 103. The injured included women and  children, he said.

Tahir Ali Shah, a city resident, said: “I can see the burnt vehicle and people are removing the dead from it.”

 ‘Confusion’

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, said: “There is still confusion as to whether the device was planted in a passing bus or a vehicle located in that particular area, but one thing is quite clear: this was indeed a powerful device.

“The police are now saying that up to 100 kilos [of explosives] – perhaps more than that - may have been used in this particular attack.”

Rescue workers were working frantically to save the injured and the military have been called in to deal with the situation, our correspondent said.

He added: “What is surprising everyone is that immediately after the attack the provincial information minister came out and said that he knew where the attack came from, and started saying that people should be united against the Taliban even though the Taliban have not claimed responsibility for this particular attack.”

Zahir Shah Sheraz, a Pakistani journalist in Peshawar, told Al Jazeera that the officials he had spoken to had confirmed that it was a car bomb and that the possibility of a suicide attack could not be ruled out.

No responsibility claim

Television footage showed the charred skeleton of what appeared to be a
bus flipped on its side in the middle of a major road. 

Twisted remains of a motorbike lay alongside the bus and a nearby vehicle was in flames.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but previous attacks have been blamed on al-Qaeda-linked Pakistan Taliban.

Security forces have made gains this year against Pakistani Taliban fighters who have set off bombs in towns and cities.

The targets have been mostly security forces and foreigners.