A car bomb has exploded in a crowded market in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 80 people and wounding about 100, officials have said.

A huge blaze erupted after the explosion on Wednesday, which came just hours after Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, arrived in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, for talks with government officials.

 “The death toll is more than 80. Most of them are women and children,” Sahib Gul, a doctor at the city’s main hospital said.

“We are facing a shortage of blood. I appeal on citizens to come and donate blood,” another doctor was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

 The blast caused serious damage in the area, and rescue workers said people were trapped under collapsed shops and buildings.

Volatile situation

“The smoke is billowing out of the scene and the fire is not yet extinguished,” Inayat Ali Khan, a local journalist at the scene of the blast, told Al Jazeera.

October attacks in Pakistan

Oct 28: Blast rocks a women’s market in Peshawar, killing at least 80.  Oct 23: A suicide bomber kills seven people close to an  air force complex in northwestern Pakistan.  Oct 22: Gunmen shoot and kill a senior army officer and a soldier in Islamabad.  Oct 20: Two suicide bombers attack the International Islamic University in Islamabad, killing six people.  Oct 16: Three suicide attackers hit a police station in Peshawar, killing 13.  Oct 15: Teams of gunmen attack three security facilities in the eastern city of Lahore, leaving at least 28 people dead, while car bombs kill 11 people in northwestern Kohat district and a 6-year-old boy in Peshawar.  Oct 12: A suicide car bomb explodes near a market in the northwestern Shangla district, killing 41.  Oct 10: A raid on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi leads to a 22-hour standoff that leaves nine rebels and 14 others dead.  Oct 9: A suicide car bomb in Peshawar kills 53 people.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Islamabad, said local officials say the car drove into a very narrow and packed market place. 

“The bomb disposal squad are on the location and are looking for clues on what type of explosive was used,” he said.

“From there they’ll be able to tell what organisation was behind the bomb making, because they’ll be able to link it to previous attacks.

“This goes to show that the security situation in Pakistan is very delicate as the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is in Pakistan for the first time.”

The blast comes as Pakistan’s military is fighting members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the country’s semi-autonomous tribal region of South Waziristan.

The military launched its offensive nearly two weeks ago, pitting around 30,000 Pakistani troops against an estimated 10-12,000 Taliban fighters.

Since the assault began, the military says it has killed at least 231 fighters, and lost 29 soldiers.

More than 125,000 people have been registered as displaced by the Pakistan military’s offensive in South Waziristan since October 13, United Nations officials have said.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said that humanitarian access to people in need remains the key challenge for agencies, given the volatile security environment in the displacement areas.

The military has given no figures for civilian casualties, but those fleeing say many people caught in the middle were killed. 

Source: Aljazeera