Deadly blast near Peshawar court

At least 30 people were wounded in the attack
on Peshawar's busy Khyber Road [AFP]

At least 16 people have been killed in a suicide bomb blast outside the main gate of a court building in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, the seventh deadly explosion there in less than two weeks.

Officials said about 30 people were hurt in Thursday's attack, which occurred during rush hour when the area is normally crowded with lawyers, administrative personnel and the public.
The court building is located on Peshawar's Khyber Road, across the street from the Pearl Continental Hotel, which was targeted in a deadly bomb attack in June.

"It happened outside the judicial complex," Abdul Wali, a police officer, told the Reuters news agency.
The head of Peshawar city administration, Sahibzada Anees, told reporters that a suicide bomber carried out the attack.

'Suicide attack'
"The attacker was on foot and blew himself when guards tried to search him at the gates of the court," he said.
Three policemen were among the dead, Anees said.

Sahib Gul, head of Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, said 16 bodies had been brought to the hospital.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the attacker was trying to enter the court's complex when he was stopped by security personnel.

"The attack took place at 10:20am (local time) when the Kyhber Road is jam packed with traffic as well as people.

"As that suicide bomber tried to enter the court, the police decided to conduct a search at which point he detonated the device with devastating consequences."

A wave of attacks have targeted police checkpoints, police stations and the provincial headquarters of Pakistan's spy agency this month, killing dozens of people.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for several of the attacks.

The blast comes as Pakistan's military is fighting members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in the country's semi-autonomous tribal region of South Waziristan.

The military launched its offensive nearly three weeks ago, pitting about 30,000 Pakistani troops against an estimated 10 to 12,000 Taliban fighters in South Waziristan