PESHAWAR, Pakistan — At least 19 people were killed in an explosion on a bus traveling in the North Waziristan tribal region on Sunday.
There were conflicting reports about what may have caused the blast, with some government officials saying it was a terrorist act while others insisting the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.
The bus was taking passengers from Bannu district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to Mir Ali subdivision in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region.
Two government officials in Mir Ali subdivision said a suicide bomber was traveling in the bus from Bannu to Mir Ali and it seemed he mistakenly triggered his explosives-laden jacket and caused the blast.
Government officials said the passenger coach was completely destroyed by the blast.
A government official said none of the passengers survived.
"Only pieces of their bodies were collected from spot of the blast and were beyond recognition," the official said.
The official said there was a gas cylinder installed in the vehicle but that it wouldn't cause a lot of destruction if it were to explode.
A security official said investigators were trying to determine the nature of the blast, but said it seemed to be a terrorist act.
