M A I N   N E W S

19 killed, 70 hurt in Pak bomb blast

ISLAMABAD, Sept 19 (PTI) — A powerful bomb blast rocked the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing 19 persons and injuring over 70 others in a crowded vegetable market this morning, doctors and witnesses said.

However, the official news agency APP and state-run Pakistan Television put the toll at 12.

The bomb, believed to be placed in one of the crates of grapes loaded on a truck, exploded when the people were busy buying vegetables and fruits, Mr Hamid Ali Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Islamabad, told reporters.

The blast, the deadliest of 40 bombings that have rocked several Pakistani cities this year, extensively damaged several shops.

The injured, most of them in critical condition, had been admitted to three local hospitals in Islamabad and the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Emergency has been declared in all hospitals in Islamabad and the people rushed there to donate blood to the injured.

Mr Khan said seven truck drivers have been taken into custody in connection with the blast.