Taliban claims responsibilty for attack on U.S. vehicles in Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Taliban is claiming responsibility for an attack Friday on a convoy of U.S. Consulate vehicles in northwest Pakistan, saying it was in retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden.


A car bomb targeted the vehicles in Peshawar, killing one person and wounding 11 others, police said.

The bombing is the latest in a series of attacks in the nation following a raid this month by U.S. commandos that left the al Qaeda leader dead.

In a telephone call to CNN, a Taliban spokesman said the remote-controlled car bomb attack was also retaliation over ongoing military operations targeting the militant group.

The car bomb, packed with 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of explosives, detonated as the consulate cars passed by in Peshawar, said Liaqat Ali Khan, the police chief.

It was unclear whether the vehicles were stationary or moving at the time, he said.

The blast killed a motorcycle rider passing by, said Ibrar Khan, a Peshawar police official.

The motorcyclist was identified as a local resident, and he was not a suicide bomber, Khan said.

But a U.S. Embassy spokesman said it was a suicide bomber, who detonated himself next to one of the two vehicles in the convoy as it was making its way to the consulate.

The blast injured two U.S. government employees, said spokesman Alberto Rodriguez. He said the employees suffered minor injuries.

Nine others, described as bystanders, were wounded in the blast, Khan said.
Peshawar is about 90 miles west of the capital, Islamabad.