Suicide Car Bomb Kills 24 in Northwest Pakistan

People stand next to bodies of bombing victims at a local hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday,...

People stand next to bodies of bombing victims at a local hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. A suicide bombing occurred outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, as the U.N. said spreading violence had forced it to pull out some expatriate staff and suspend long-term development work in areas along the Afghan border.

(Alexandre Meneghini/AP Photo)

A suicide car bomber attacked a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 24 people and illustrating militants' growing willingness to target civilians in their war against the government.

Taliban insurgents apparently hope the attacks will weaken the army's resolve to wage an offensive against the the group's stronghold along the Afghan border. But the indiscriminate killing could backfire by further turning the public against Islamist extremists, as happened in Iraq.

The bombing was the fourth in about a month to target a market in or around Peshawar, the main city in the northwest. The attacks have produced some of the largest death tolls in the past few years, killing a total of more than 200 people.

The van that exploded outside the market in Charsadda city was packed with some 90 pounds (40 kilograms) of explosives, said Liaqat Ali Khan, the senior police chief in the surrounding North West Frontier Province.

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The blast destroyed several stores and caused panic among the vendors and shoppers who were present at the market. Three women and three children were among the 24 killed, said Khan. Another 64 people were wounded.

"It was deafening and there were clouds of dust all around. I could not see anything around me," said Rashid Kaka, who was returning to his shop from the local mosque when the bomb exploded. "Later, I saw many bodies lying scattered."

Three of the recent market attacks in the northwest, including one that killed at least 112 people in Peshawar, have occurred since mid-October, when the army launched an offensive in the northwestern tribal region of South Waziristan.

Prior to the army operation, most militant attacks in Pakistan had targeted security forces or government officials.

No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack and the others targeting Pakistani civilians, but the government and independent security analysts say there is no doubt the Taliban are to blame.