Top ANP leader among 20 killed in suicide blast at Pak poll rally

At least 20 people, including a senior Awami National Party leader, were killed and more than 30 others injured after a Taliban suicide bomber attacked an election rally in Pakistan's northwestern Peshawar city, the second terrorist attack on a poll rally ahead of the July 25 general elections.

The blast took place shortly before midnight on Tuesday night when ANP leader Haroon Bilour, who was contesting elections from PK-78 constituency in Peshawar city, along with other party workers had gathered for a corner meeting in the congested Yakatoot area.

The blast occurred near Bilour's vehicle. Bilour was the son of the late ANP leader Bashir Bilour, who was also killed in a suicide attack when a Pakistani Taliban bomber blew himself up at a party meet in Peshawar in 2012, reports PTI.

The death toll was initially reported at 13 but it rose to 20 overnight, Lady Reading Hospital's spokesperson Zulfiqar Ali Baba Khel was quoted as saying by the Dawn. City police chief Qazi Jameel said Bilour was among those killed. More than 30 people injured in the explosion. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said in a statement that they targeted ANP's rally, killing Bilour, a candidate for a seat in the provincial legislature in Peshawar.

Bilour had suffered serious injuries in the blast and was shifted to the hospital where he succumbed to the wounds.