Suicide car-bomber strikes in Hangu, Pakistan

The bomb detonated near several buildings and shops in Hangu, close to Pakistan's tribal areas, causing widespread damage. The district's police offices are also in the area and officers are among the casualties, according to reports.

Pakistani police official Latif Khan has been reported as saying that the blast had left a deep crater, that the buildings housing the police station were partially damaged, and that at least 15 shops were “completely razed.”

The buildings also contain Hangu district courts, police said.

Pakistani official Mir Chaman Khan has also been reported as saying that as many 56 people were wounded. Most of these were civilians, and many had been in the restaurant, he added.

Witnesses have reported that the blast was so powerful that they feared more people were trapped in the rubble. The bomb is estimated to have contained about 900lb (400kg) of explosives, according to official reports.

The Pakistani Taliban have already claimed responsibility for the attack.

Militant attacks have risen sharply since the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden by US Special Forces in Pakistani on 2 May.

Hangu, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, has a history of attacks by militants who frequently target the security forces.

The attack came as US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the, arrived in Pakistan for talks with senior military and civilian leaders.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the blast, describing the attackers as "the enemies of humanity".

But Pakistani Taliban spokesma Ehsanullah Ehsan, who claimed responsibility for the attack, told AFP news agency: "We accept responsibility for this attack. This was a small attack to avenge Osama's martyrdom.

"Soon you will see bigger attacks. Revenge for Osama can't be satisfied just with small attacks."

Just last Wednesday, four people were killed and 22 wounded in a suicide lorry-bomb attack on a police station in nearby Peshawar.

On Monday, Pakistani troops ended a siege by militants who attacked a naval air force base in Karachi, killing at least 16 people, including 10 soldiers.