Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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May 15, 2007

Bomb Blast Kills at Least 25 in Pakistan
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1779BA2:A6F02AD83191E160742F7880A24EA1CB9574F7DCC14957C0 Police chief says
message from bomber warns that anyone spying for America would meet
similar fate





Pakistani volunteers, security officials gather at the suicide bombing
site in Peshawar, 15 May 2007A powerful bomb blast in northwestern
Pakistan has killed at least 25 people and seriously injured more than
25 others. The explosion ripped through a crowded hotel lobby in the
city of Peshawar. The explosion occurred as the country was still
recovering from political violence that rocked the southern city of
Karachi on Saturday. From Islamabad, VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand
reports.

Witnesses say dead bodies and building debris littered the street
outside the hotel in central Peshawar Tuesday.

The blast tore through the ground floor of the four-story Marhaba
Hotel.

Local officials suspect that the attack was a suicide bombing.

Provincial police chief Sharif Virk says investigators recovered
several body parts, one reportedly with a message from the bomber
attached.

He says a statement was taped to one of the alleged attacker's legs
warning that anyone spying for America would meet a similar fate.

Peshawar is the capital of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province,
which borders Afghanistan.

Pro-Taleban and al Qaida extremists are active throughout the region.

Local militants have murdered scores of Pakistanis in the area after
accusing them of working for America or Pakistan's central government.

Last month, a suicide bomber targeted the country's interior minister,
Aftab Sherpao, following a political rally just outside Peshawar.

Sherpao escaped serious injury, but at least 28 people were killed.

The latest blast occurred while Pakistan was recovering from political
violence that rocked the southern city of Karachi on Saturday.

At least 41 people were killed when pro- and anti-government forces
squared off in the country's largest city. The point of contention was
President Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the country's chief justice
in March.

Pakistani officials say more violence is possible as public anger
continues to mount over the suspension.

Authorities say there is no apparent connection between the on-going
political crisis and the Peshawar explosion.