10 injured in blast outside Peshawar restaurant

At least 10 people were injured on Friday in a car bomb blast outside a restaurant in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, hours after seven people were killed by a suicide bomber near a strategic air force complex in Punjab province.

Witnesses said the blast occurred soon after a man parked a car outside a restaurant in Hayatabad on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.

The man, who had long hair, fled immediately after parking the car. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals and the condition of one of them was described as serious, reports said. They said the restaurant targeted in the attack belonged to the son of a senior leader of the Awami National Party, which is in power in the NWFP, and is part of the ruling coalition at the centre.

The walls and windows of the restaurant were shattered by the blast. The police fired in the air after the explosion to disperse people and launched a search for the attacker.

Earlier today morning, seven persons, including two security personnel, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a check-post outside the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra in Punjab province.

Pakistan has witnessed a wave of deadly bombings and suicide attacks over the past two weeks that has been blamed on the Taliban. Most of the attacks have targeted security facilities, including the army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.