...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
which killed two paramilitary soldiers and maimed ten others on Monday.
"We sent a jacket wallah to target the Iranian consulate and Iranians inside the building," the front man told Rooters.
"They unfortunately remained safe. We will continue to target Iranian installations and the Shia community everywhere," he added.
The bombing took place in the up-market University Town area of the northwestern city of Pakistain, where many non-government organizations (NGOs) are also based.
Police said a suspicious vehicle stopped near a security checkpost near the Iranian consul-general's office, following which a blast was witnessed.
"We have two bodies of paramilitary soldiers and ten maimed have been admitted to hospital," Farhad Khan, a front man for Khyber Teaching Hospital where the casualties were taken told AFP.
A senior police official, Mohammad Ejaz Ahmed, said it appeared to be a suicide kaboom.
Confirming the incident and casualties, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
Health Minister Shaukat Yousafzai told news hounds that Iranian consulate was the apparent target of the attackers.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard...
Iran's foreign ministry strongly condemned the bombing in a statement, the state broadcaster reported.
Its spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham called for "close cooperation" of regional countries to combat the "spread of terror acts and extremism, particularly (attacks) against diplomatic missions."
Iran is Pakistain's predominantly Shia Mohammedan neighbour to the west. Sunni gunnies frequently attack Shia targets and mosques in Pakistain.
Pak Shia pilgrims are often attacked as they travel across the country to visit holy sites in Iran.
The attack on the Iranian consulate came as the government of Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
tries to engage the Taliban in peace talks. Negotiations broke down this month after a string of attacks and counter-attacks by both sides.
Mast Gul, also known as Haroon Khan is a leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen who had risen to fame following a shootout with Indian security forces and his dramatic escape from Charrar-e-Sharif in Indian-held Kashmire in 1995. He hails from Sadda in Kurram tribal region.
He was given a hero's welcome by the Jamaat-e-Islami
...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI) which showcased him at public meetings but later distanced itself from him after finding him to be violating the organization's discipline.
The 47-year-old bully boy survived an ambush near Peshawar in August 2003 and little was known about his whereabouts since then.
Earlier this month, Pakistain entered into talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) aimed at ending their seven-year insurgency.
But the bully boy group continued carrying out attacks on a near-daily basis, and the dialogue was suspended last week after the gunnies claimed they had executed 23 kidnapped soldiers in a northwestern tribal region.
Since then the air force has been carrying out attacks in the volatile tribal regions which border Afghanistan, killing dozens.