Bomb Blast Killed At Least Five In Pakistan

A bomb exploded outside a luxury hotel in a major city in northwest Pakistan Tuesday, killing at least five people, according to a government official.

The blast went off near the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar.

Gunmen stormed the hotel just Tuesday night before "a big bomb went off," said police official Liaqat Ali.

At least five people were killed and 25 were wounded, said Sahibzada Anis, a top government official in Peshawar.

Pakistan's Express Television also reported at least five deaths, but said 35 people were injured.

Police official Liaqat Ali said gunmen stormed into the Pearl Continental Hotel in the north-western city just before "a big bomb went off" and sparked a major fire.

Officials are trying to establish whether a device had been planted or it was a suicide attack.

Pakistani television channels quoted witnesses as saying it was a gun and bomb attack.PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Officials says a huge bomb has exploded at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least five people and wounding 25 others.

Police official Liaqat Ali says gunmen stormed into the Pearl Continental Hotel in the northwestern city on Tuesday night just before “a big bomb went off.”

Sahibzada Anis, a top government official in Peshawar, says at least five people were killed and 25 wounded.

The blast is the latest in a string of attacks in Pakistani cities in recent weeks that officials say are revenge for a military offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley.

An explosion has killed five people and injured at least 25 at a luxury hotel in the north-west Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials say.

Police named the hotel as the five-star Pearl Continental, and an unconfirmed report suggests that foreign guests are among those hurt.

Peshawar is capital of Pakistan's troubled North West Frontier Province.

A series of bombs have hit cities including Peshawar since a government crackdown on Taliban militants.

One report said the hotel had been subjected to a gun and bomb attack.

Pearl Continental's website describes its hotel in Peshawar as "overlooking the famous Peshawar golf course and the historic Bala Hisar Fort".

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TV reports said the hotel had been subjected to a gun and bomb attack.

A government investigator, Sahibzada Anees, was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying officials were trying to establish whether a device had been planted or it was a suicide attack.

Pearl Continental's website describes its hotel in Peshawar as "overlooking the famous Peshawar golf course and the historic Bala Hisar Fort".

Government forces launched an offensive earlier this year to crush a Taliban-led uprising in the Swat valley aimed at enforcing Sharia law.

Taliban leaders have promised to launch revenge attacks on major Pakistani cities and claimed a bombing in Lahore last month which left at least 28 people dead.