At least 40 people were killed and about 100 were wounded after a bomb exploded at a bazaar in Peshawar on Sunday , officials at a Pakistani hospital said . A car carrying 220 kilograms ( 485 pounds ) of explosives detonated in the city 's historic Qissa Khawani bazaar , destroying at least 10 shops and several vehicles and leaving a huge crater , said Shafqat Malik , chief of the bomb disposal unit . The Pakistani Taliban , Tehrik-i-Taliban , condemned the attack and denied any involvement . Alamzeb Khan was working at a nearby tea stall Sunday when he felt the earth shake . The impact of the blast knocked him to the ground . `` When I got up , everything was on fire . Women and children were burning in ( a ) Suzuki pickup , and a number of vehicles were destroyed , besides the shops ( that ) were also on fire , '' Khan said . The death toll is expected to rise , as most of the wounded are critically injured , said Dr. Arshad Javed , chief executive of Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar . Already , people are sharing stories of incredible loss . One family traveled to Peshawar to attend a wedding . Now they 're planning a mass funeral . In all , the family lost 18 members in the attack , including children . Bus blast in Pakistan kills at least 17 . A gruesome week . Peshawar , the capital of Pakistan 's volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province , has endured a violent week . On Monday , 81 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Protestant church in one of the deadliest attacks ever on the Christian community in Pakistan . A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility , saying the attack was in response to U.S. drone strikes in tribal areas . And on Friday , at least 17 people were killed and more than 30 others wounded in an explosion that ripped through a bus carrying government employees . Tackling religious intolerance and violence in Pakistan . Sikander Khan Sherpao , senior minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , suggested the attack had been carried out by forces wanting to sabotage recent efforts by the national government to pursue peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban . The recent bombings have raised concerns about the government 's ability to provide security . Sunday evening , after a meeting of provincial officials , the creation of task forces to help maintain peace in Peshawar was announced . No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday 's attack at the bazaar . The Pakistani Taliban decried the loss of innocent life but at the same time struck a defiant note . `` We are targeting the government machinery and the law enforcement agencies but not general public , '' said spokesman Shaidullah Shaid . Qissa Khawani bazaar , or the `` storytellers ' market , '' was the site of a bloody massacre in April 1930 when British soldiers fired on peaceful demonstrators , killing hundreds . At the time , Pakistan was part of India , and India was under British rule . Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rife with Islamic extremists and has been the site of clashes between Pakistani security forces and militants . Earlier this month , Pakistani officials announced plans to pursue peace talks with Taliban militants and withdraw troops from parts of the volatile northwestern region , which borders Afghanistan . New earthquake strikes hard-hit Pakistan .
One family loses 18 members in the attack . The Pakistani Taliban denies responsibility , condemns attack . At least 40 were killed and about 100 wounded in an attack on historic Pakistani bazaar . Witness : `` Everything was on fire . I saw people jumping from windows to escape being shot at by gunmen who had been hiding behind a wall of rubble for hours. "