Deadly blast hits Pakistan city

（单词翻译）

At least 41 people have been killed in a bomb blast in a crowded area of the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials say.

More than 100 people have also been injured, a regional minister（部长） said.

Officials and witnesses said a vehicle laden（加载） with explosives had been detonated and destroyed near the city's Khyber Bazaar¹.

Friday's explosion was the latest in a series of recent bombings across north-western Pakistan.

It comes as the Pakistani army prepares an operation against the Taliban in the tribal² region of South Waziristan.


TV footage showed what appeared to be the charred³ frame of a bus destroyed by the explosion. Many of the victims of the blast were thought to be passengers.

The remains⁴ of other vehicles were strewn in the road.

"We don't know if it was a remote controlled bomb or whether a suicide bomber⁵ was involved（参与）," said North West Frontier Province information minister Iftikhar Hussain.

"Death has to come one day, but we will keep chasing these terrorists, and this attack cannot deter⁶ our resolve," he added.

A witness told Reuters news agency that they had seen bodies being pulled from a burnt vehicle.

Hours earlier, police said gunmen in Peshawar had attacked vehicles being used to take supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan, setting them on fire and destroying them.

The blast comes days after a deadly bombing at a UN office in the Pakistani（巴基斯坦） capital, Islamabad, and less than two weeks after a double suicide car bombing in Peshawar.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad that the Taliban has been threatening to carry out attacks unless operations against the militant⁷ group were stopped.

He says that in recent days Taliban positions in the tribal areas have been bombed by the air force, amid speculation⁸ that the army's offensive is soon to be intensified⁹.

There was a period of relative quiet in August after Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed, but the rate of attacks claimed by the group has increased since then, our correspondent adds. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)