Twin bomb blasts kill 34 in NW Pakistan

* Taliban claims responsibility shortly after blasts

* Bomber, a 17-year-old motorcyclist

Pakistan: At least 34 people have been killed and more than 80 injured after two massive explosions ripped through a crowded supermarket complex in northwest Pakistan.

The twin bomb blasts occurred minutes apart at about 10:50 p.m. local time (1850 GMT) on Saturday in the Khyber Super Market area of Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, AFP reported.

“At least 34 people were killed and more than 80 injured in the blasts,” senior local police official Ijaz Khan said.

Rescue team members and hospital sources say that the death toll could further climb as many of the injured admitted to local hospitals are in critical conditions.

The first explosion, which was relatively small in intensity, drew in onlookers and rescue teams to the blast site. As people converged, a 17-year-old bomber rammed his explosives-laden motorcycle into the crowds of people at the site, killing many on the spot.

“The first blast was quite small but as people gathered close to the site of the explosion, the second one, which was real big one, went off,” Khan noted.

The force of the explosions destroyed over 20 shops near the blast site. Many people were also buried under the debris as a two-storey hotel collapsed following the huge bomb attacks.

During the search operation following the blasts, police also arrested three suspects.

Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility shortly after the blasts.

Press TV