ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 19 people were killed and about 50 injured when a high-intensity explosion ripped through Islamabad's crowded fruit and vegetable market on Wednesday morning, police said.
A witness said the explosion happened around the peak business hour of 8:10 in the morning.
Muhammad Ismail, a broker in the market estimated that he was about 220 yards away from the blast. "There were at least 200 people around the point where bomb ripped off. I heard a huge blast which followed by huge smoke. I saw cut limbs of people flying in front of my eye. There was blood and cries," Ismail said. "We rushed to the point to help people. Most of them had lost their limbs. It was horrible. A friend of mine died right in front of eyes."
Fruit and vegetable traders blamed shoddy security for the blast. "There is not a single entry or exit point in the market. There is no police officials deployed at the market. It is an open-for-all place," Abdullah Khan, a trader, said.
Islamabad Police Chief Khalid Khattak said that four to five kilograms of explosive material caused the blast. "The explosive material was planted in a crate of guava fruit. The brokers in the market were auctioning the fruit when the bomb went off," he said.
Khattak defended the market's security measures, saying that it was not humanly possible to check each and every vehicle and person who come to a place like a fruit and vegetable market.
Hospital authorities in Islamabad told local media that at least 20 people were killed and more casualties were possible. Professor Javed Akram, head of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences where the majority of victims were brought, told media that nine patients were in critical condition and four others were in very critical condition.
Authorities cordoned off the area and declared the rescue operation complete.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, though Pakistanis on social media pointed fingers towards the Pakistani Taliban, which issued a statement denouncing the attack. Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid called it illegal to attack innocent people in public places.
The Pakistani Taliban announced a month-long ceasefire in March that was extended to April 10. Pakistani officials conducted several rounds of peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban's nominated committee in Islamabad and also with its members of its central council in tribal areas.
On March 3, militants from a lesser known terrorist group, Ahararul Hind, launched a bomb-and-gun attack on the district courts complex in Islamabad, killing 11 people including a judge.
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Sahi is a special correspondent.
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