Blast at Pakistani airport kills one, wounds two

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 26 (Reuters) A car bomb exploded outside the airport in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar today, killing one person and wounding two, police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Peshawar is near the border with Afghanistan and has seen several, mostly small, explosions over the past year.

''It was an act of terrorism. We are investigating,'' said senior police officer Malik Saad.

The explosion was quite close to one of several military offices outside the airport, he said.

Islamist groups seeking to destabilise the government because of President Pervez Musharraf's alliance with the United States in the war on terrorism are suspected of being behind a wave of attacks in the northwest in recent months.

A blast in a crowded Peshawar market killed six people and wounded more than 30 on October 20.

Reuters DKA DB1029