5 killed as two blasts hit cinema hall in NW Pakistan

At least five persons were killed and nearly 20 others injured when two blasts ripped through a cinema hall in the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan today.

According to initial reports, around 70 people were in the theatre when the blasts occurred. A Pashto film was being screened at the hall located opposite a police station.

Five persons were killed by the blasts, media reports said. The injured were taken to the state-run Lady Reading Hospital. Many of the injured were in a critical condition, said a report on the website of the Dawn newspaper.

Officials said they suspected that someone threw two grenades inside the hall. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
 

Footage on television showed footwear and caps lying strewn at the cinema hall.