1 killed, 19 injured as blast hits van in NW Pakistan

At least one man was killed and 19 others were injured when a bomb went off near a passenger van in Pakistan's northwest tribal region of Kurram Agency on Sunday morning, local media reported. Local news channel Geo quoted the region's political administration as saying that a passenger van carrying 30 people was targeted by a remote controlled blast in Sadda Khar Kalay area of Kurram Agency, a volatile tribal area located on Pakistan- Afghan border. The van was heading towards Peshawar city from Parachinar, the capital of Kurram Agency, when it was attacked, said the report. The injured people were shifted to nearby hospital where several of them were in critical condition. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but hardliner Sunni Muslims often attacked passenger vans carrying Shia Muslims in the past. Security forces cordoned off the area and investigation into the incident has been made.