/Islamabad, Oct 28 (IANS) More than 80 people were killed in Pakistan's worst terror attack this year when a massive bomb blast ripped through a crowded market here Wednesday, hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began a three-day trip to the country, local media reported.

In an attack that seemed almost staged for Clinton's first visit to Pakistan since she became secretary of state, the Taliban, which has dramatically stepped up attacks in the country, struck this time with a car bomb in Peshawar, the capital of the restive North West Frontier Province. The impact of the blast killed at least 87 people, mostly women, and left 200 injured, according to News International.

A building in the congested locality of Meena Bazar collapsed. A mosque bore the brunt. The windows of buildings were shattered and several vehicles and around 15 shops were burnt.

The deafening explosion, heard almost all over Peshawar, occurred in a market that is hugely popular with women.

Once the dust raised by the explosion settled down, stunned shopkeepers rushed to the rescue of the injured, including children. They also joined security personnel in digging through the debris in a desperate hunt for survivors.

Many people broke down on seeing the ghastly sight -- of mutilated bodies and raging fires -- and on hearing the screams of the wounded. The injured were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital and other hospitals.

The bomb disposal squad blamed a car bomb for the disaster. Xinhua news agency quoted an eyewitness as saying that a parked car exploded, raining death and destruction.

Clouds of smoke rose from the area and several shops were reduced to rubble, their roofs blown off.

The latest terror strike -- amid a wave of bombings and suicide attacks that have shaken Pakistan -- comes just five days after a bombing outside a restaurant in Peshawar.

District Coordination Officer Sahibzada Anees said rescuers faced difficulties in accessing the area because the burning shops were located in congested lanes.

All markets in Peshawar were closed after the blast.

President Asif Ali Zardari denounced the blast. NWFP Chief Minister Amir Hyder Khan Hoti ordered inquiry into the blast.

As Pakistanis came to terms with the latest terror strike targeted at common people, Clinton said in Islamabad that the US stands 'shoulder to shoulder' with Pakistan in its fight against extremism.

'I want you to know that this fight is not only Pakistan's alone, this is our struggle as well.

'We will give you the help which is needed to achieve the peace,' she said.

She condemned the bombing in Peshawar and said: 'Pakistan is in the midst of an ongoing struggle against tenacious and brutal extremist groups who kill innocent people and terrorise communities.'

Pakistan has been witnessing a string of terror attacks, even as the army continues to assault against the Taliban in South Waziristan.

Nearly 200 people have been killed since Oct 5 in a series of bombings and gunfights across Pakistan, including in the capital Islamabad and Lahore.

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