Bombing at Pakistan market kills 18 ahead of grim memorial
ISLAMABAD - At least 18 people were killed and more than 40 wounded on Sunday in a powerful bomb blast in a remote town near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, just days ahead of Wednesday's upcoming first anniversary of a December 2014 Taliban attack on a school in the northern city of Peshawar.
Although no one claimed responsibility, a senior Pakistani intelligence official who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity said "early signs suggest the attack was linked to the Taliban."
There are unconfirmed reports in Pakistani media of two Taliban suspects being arrested after the attack from Parachinar, the town where the blast took place.
Other senior security officials who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity said security across the country will likely to placed on a high level of alert as Pakistan prepares to commemorate the first anniversary of the December 2014 attack.
Some suggested the Taliban is likely to attempt to launch symbolic strikes during the commemorations.
The target for Sunday's attack was a market for used winter clothes whose demand has risen in recent days as freezing temperatures arrived in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Parachinar is close to the Afghan border and routinely sees people travel across from one side to another with relative ease.
In recent years, Parachinar has also witnessed periodic tension due to threats surrounding members of Pakistan's Shiite Muslim community. Across Parachinar, the majority population in some villages are Shiites, although most of the country is Sunni.
After Sunday's attack, a senior western diplomat in Islamabad who spoke to CBS News on background said: "This attack shows that Pakistan remains vulnerable in places, though the army has attacked many Taliban locations since last December's school attack."
The December 2014 attack prompted Pakistan's army and air force to intensify attacks on Taliban strongholds in a robust campaign to wipe out the militant movement from its soil. However, senior officials say, Taliban militants have often crossed over to Afghan territory while under military pressure and returned to Pakistan subsequently to resume their fight.