Blast hits bus in Pakistan; 7 killed

A bomb blast on a passenger coach in northwest Pakistan yesterday killed at least seven people and wounded another six, police said.

The bomb was planted beneath a passenger seat and exploded in the outskirts of Peshawar, the region's main city, while the bus was en route to the town of Hangu.

The motive of the attack was yet not clear but police said they suspected a sectarian motive in a region known for Sunni-Shiite violence.

Shahid-ur-Rehman, the injured driver of the bus said the bomb was planted by a young man.

"A young man, carrying a travel bag boarded the bus... and reserved two more seats telling us two women will join him at the next stop. At next stop he disembarked from the bus and there was a blast a few minutes later," Rehman told AFP.