At Least 11 Killed in Pakistan Hotel Bombing

Nowshera Hotel Hit With Remote-Controlled Bicycle Bomb

11 people, including two members of the Pakistani Army and a member of the air force, were killed today and 14 others were wounded when a remote-controlled bicycle bomb was detonated against a hotel in Nowshera, destroying it.

The bicycle was parked in the courtyard of the hotel and was detonated when people were congregating in the area to break the Ramadan fast at sunset. Though security forces seem to have been the target, a woman and a child were among the slain.

The hotel was also in a market district, filled with shoppers buying food in preparation of the end of Ramadan Eid al-Fitr feasts. The blast was said to have damaged a number of shops in the area, but it seems the casualties were largely in the immediate area around the hotel and courtyard.

So far no group has claimed credit for the attack, but Nowshera is a common site for attacks by assorted Taliban factions operating in the nearby Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.