Five people have been killed in the Pakistani city of Peshawar after a suicide bomb exploded at a check point on a busy road.
Peshawar has seen a surge of militant strikes since the army went on the offensive against Pakistani Taliban militants in their South Waziristan stronghold on the Afghan border in October.
The check point is on the city's Mall Road, near offices of the national airline and some media companies.
It is also close to a Christian girls' school and the city's military district.
Top city official Sahibzada Anis told Reuters five people, including one policeman, were killed and 25 were wounded.
The bomber had apparently been heading towards a market, he said.
The blast sparked panic in offices and shops along the road, residents said.
Peshawar is the gateway to the Khyber Pass and an ancient trading hub between South Asia's plains and the mountains of Afghanistan.
Security is very tight in Peshawar and elsewhere across the country, with police check posts on roads and guards at the gates of public buildings.
Police have stepped up already tight security in the run-up to Ashura, the Shia Muslim mourning ritual, early next week.
Sunni Muslim militants have in the past attacked their Shia rivals as they hold processions on the streets.
