Suicide car-bomber kills at least 34

A suicide car-bomber has killed up to 34 people in Pakistan. Tuesday's attack was the third in the area, near the city of Peshawar, in three days.

As Pakistani forces continue to battle the Taliban along the Afghan border, the militants' latest retaliatory attacks indicate a shift in strategy toward targeting markets.

According to the local police chief, a suicide bomber in a car set off explosives in the northwestern Pakistani town of Charsadda, near Peshawar, killing up to 34 people and wounding at least 50.

Ibrar Khan, Eyewitness, said, "We were standing outside a roadside hotel. A donkey cart was passing by. A red colored Alto car, with a young man sitting inside it, hit the donkey cart. I had barely moved a few steps when there was a loud explosion."

No one has claimed responsibility so far. But authorities have blamed similar attacks in recent weeks on the Taliban.

The bombing is the third blast in recent days in the area of Peshawar, which borders the tribal region where the Pakistan army is pushing into a key Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuary.

In mid-October, the Pakistan army went on the offensive in South Waziristan, a lawless ethnic Pashtun region on the Afghan border, aiming to root out Taliban militants behind a wave of violence in urban areas.

Taliban militants have responded with intensified attacks in towns and cities against the offensive.