Blast Kills 10 Near US COnsulate in Pakistan
Blast Kills 10 Near US COnsulate in PakistanReuters

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a blast that killed 10 people and injured 31 others near the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar on Friday.

A suicide bomber rode a motorbike up to a security checkpoint, a third of a mile from the consulate, and detonated 22 pounds of explosives attached to his body, police spokesman Mohammad Faisal said, according to CNN. 

"It was a suicide attack, the target was the FC commander," police official Arshad Khan told the AFP news agency.

The apparent target, head of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) Abdul Majeed Marwat, reportedly escaped without serious injury.

Another official told the AFP that Marwat had escaped with "only scratches" but had been taken to hospital for treatment.

Four of the wounded were paramilitary personnel, according to reports. 

Peshawar, located in Pakistan's northwest near the border with Afghanistan and adjacent to Pakistan's tribal region, is rife with Islamic extremists, including the Pakistani Taliban, and is often the site of violet attacks. 

Last week a car bomb exploded at a nearby camp for displaced people, killing 12 and injuring 32 others.