23 killed, 55 injured in Pak blast

At least 23 people were killed and 55 others injured today when a bomb ripped through a cloth market in the restive tribal region near the Afghan border in northwest Pakistan.
The blast occurred inParachinar in Kurram agency when the market was filled with a large number of people who were buying used and second-hand winter clothes.
Security forces reached the spot and cordoned off the area and evidence is also being gathered from the crime scene.
"At least 23 have died and more than 50 were injured," said Amjad Ali Khan, the political administrator of Kurram.
Meanwhile, two suspects were taken into custody from the blast site whereas police said that the bomb was hidden in a cloth bale.

The injured were shifted to agency headquarters hospital in Parachinar for medical assistance.

However, officials have so far not confirmed the exact nature of the blast.
A doctor at the hospital where the wounded were taken said that most of the injured were in "critical condition" and added that the death toll could increase.
Emergency has been declared in all hospitals in Parachinar.
The market, where used winter clothes are sold, is located near the entry point of Parachinar town.
The army evacuated 23 seriously injured blast victims to Peshawar in two helicopters.
The agency is adjacent to North Waziristan where Operation Zarb-i-Azb is in progress against the Pakistani Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Parachinar is the administrative headquarters of the agency near the Afghan border. It is a small garrison town with a total population of about 40,000 comprising people of different tribes, races and faiths.