US vehicles attacked in Pakistan; 1 Pakistani dies

PESHAWAR, Pakistan —A car bomb exploded near a pair of armored US consulate vehicles carrying Americans in northwest Pakistan on Friday, the first attack on Westerners since the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden. A Pakistani passer-by died, while Americans in one vehicle were slightly wounded.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the morning attack in Peshawar, which left at least 10 people wounded, but the Pakistani Taliban have promised to avenge the Al-Qaeda chief’s May 2 slaying, including by targeting Americans in Pakistan.

US Embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said only one vehicle was damaged during the attack, and that the Americans in it were slightly hurt.

No high-ranking US official was in the vehicles, which were making a routine trip to the consulate, he said. He did not specify the number of Americans involved, but police said there were two “foreigners” in the damaged vehicle.

Peshawar lies just outside Pakistan’s tribal regions, where al-Qaeda and the Taliban have long had hideouts. The city has witnessed many of the suicide and other bombings that have scarred Pakistan over the past five years, including many that have killed security forces and Pakistani civilians. Though not unheard of, attacks on foreigners in Pakistan are still relatively few.

Pakistani television footage from the scene Friday showed that the car that was hit was a large, sport utility vehicle. It appeared to have veered into a pole and the hood was damaged. Senior police official Shafi Ullah said the vehicle was bulletproof. Nearby buildings also were damaged in the blast.

The US Consulate in Peshawar, which is widely believed to house a significant CIA presence, has been targeted in the past.

In August 2008, Lynne Tracy, then the top US diplomat at the consulate, survived a gun attack on her armored vehicle. In April last year, Islamist militants used car bombs and grenades to strike the consulate, killing eight people. None of the dead were US citizens, but several were security guards working for the consulate.

On Friday, some 110 pounds (50 kilogram) of explosives were placed in a nearby car and detonated when one of the consulate vehicles approached, senior police official Liaquat Ali Khan said. He said the second US vehicle arrived shortly after the attack and whisked away the Americans. Pakistani police were still trying to establish whether the car containing the explosives was moving or stationary when it went off.

The attack comes as the US raid that killed bin Laden in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad — just a few hours away from Peshawar — has badly damaged Pakistani-American relations.

Pakistan is angry it was not warned in advance that the Navy SEALs team would storm bin Laden’s compound, and insists it had no idea the terror mastermind was hiding there. US officials have visited Pakistan in recent days to try to patch up differences, and assure Pakistan’s continued cooperation in the battle against Al-Qaeda and allies Islamist militant groups.