Blast kills at least 20 in Pakistan's northwest

A suicide car bomb ripped through a packed shopping street in Pakistan's northwest town on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding around 50, officials said.

The small market town of Charsadda is located about 18 miles (29 km) north of Peshawar. The blast destroyed cars and badly damaged several shops. Hundreds of people were around doing their shopping. The dead and injured were ferried to hospital along roads which are full of debris.

The government blames most of the attacks on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has vowed to avenge an offensive against its strongholds and the killing of their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in American missile attack in August.