28 October 2009 Peshawar bombing

The blast was so huge that it jolted the entire area and within seconds plumes of smoke and dust started emitting out of a building near Al-Falah Mosque.

According to the North West Frontier Province's information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, most of the victims were women and children,[3] in the woman-exclusive Peepal Mindi shopping section of Peshawar.

[10] Information minister Hussain stated that the government believed the bombing to be a response to a recent anti-militant operation in South Waziristan.

According to Mario Carta, an officer in the anti-terrorism unit, there was evidence that the 2009 Peshawar attack was substantially planned and financed from Olbia, Sardinia, and that Italy-based militants had taken part in it.

"[12] Meanwhile, nearby Lady Reading Hospital went into a state of emergency[4] as the injured were transferred there;[6] medical officials pleaded with the public to donate blood for the blast's victims.

[12] Government officials acknowledged Peshawar's lack of ability to prepare for terrorist attacks, and Azam Khan, the city's senior-most civil servant, stated that, "The police strength of Peshawar cannot secure everything," and explained how the militants had penetrated a "three-ring police cordon" around the city.

[4] A local government official added that crowds were hindering rescue efforts, stating how, "People have thronged the scene...