At least 22 killed and dozens injured after explosion at Pakistan market

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned sectarian militant group, claims responsibility, saying they were acting in collaboration with the Taliban

At least 22 people died and dozens more were injured after a bomb exploded at a busy vegetable market in north-west Pakistan.

More than 50 people were said to have been wounded in the attack in the Kurram area agency's regional capital Parachinar, as locals crowded into the market to buy fruit and vegetables.

Some of the wounded were taken to hospital in Parachinar, while others were airlifted to hospitals in Peshawar, the capital of north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, reportedly due to the local hospitals’ lack of capacity to deal with such emergencies.

The explosion has been claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned sectarian militant group known for attacking minority Shia Muslims. The group said they were acting with the Taliban.

“That was our combined work with Shahryar group of Mehsud Taliban,” Ali Sufyan, a spokesman for the banned group, wrote in a text message to an Associated Press reporter.

Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, the provincial governor, told local Geo television that the remnants of militant groups targeted by security forces were trying to show their existence by such attacks.

“Terrorists largely eliminated by our security forces ... will soon meet their fate if we all together rise against them,” he said.

The attack took place in an area with a high Shia population, which has experienced a string of similar attacks over recent years.

The city of Parachinar has seen similar attacks by Sunni militants, and is widely considered the frontline of Pakistan's battle against an Islamist insurgency that began in 2004.