Four U.S. consulate workers were seriously injured and five other people killed when a suicide bomber rammed a car filled with explosives into a U.S. government vehicle in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan Monday, officials told NBC News.
The four injured were two Americans and two Pakistanis, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said.
"We can confirm that a vehicle belonging to the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar was hit in an apparent terrorist attack," the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan said in a statement.
The statement added:
"Two U.S. personnel and two Pakistani staff of the Consulate were injured and are receiving medical treatment. No U.S. Consulate personnel were killed, but we are seeking further information about other victims of this heinous act. We stand ready to work with Pakistani authorities on a full investigation so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice."
Regional Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain had earlier told reporters that two of the dead were Americans working for the nearby U.S. consulate.
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The dead and injured were taken to the Khyber Teaching Hospital, said Umar Ayub, the chief executive of the hospital.
The attack took place in area of the city, near the Afghan border, which hosts several foreign organizations, including the United Nations.
Local television footage showed an SUV at the site that was completely destroyed and burned, and an image of a U.S. passport at the scene, its corners burned by the flames.
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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan's Taliban, who are close to al-Qaida, are blamed for many of the suicide bombings across Pakistan, a strategic U.S. ally.
Those attacks had eased in recent months but it was not clear if the lull was due to pressure from military offensives or a shift in tactics.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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