In Pakistan, at least 15 people were killed and over 25 injured when a powerful car bomb ripped through a crowded market in northwest today.The blast occurred in Farooq-e-Azam Chowk, the main commercial area in Charsadda town, shortly after 4.20 pm local time. The area was crowded at the time of the explosion, which was the third consecutive attack in North West FrontierProvince since Sunday. Witnesses said the bomb was planted in a car.Police cordoned off the area as local residents and rescue service workers rushed the injured to hospitals in Charsadda and Peshawar. An emergency was declared in hospitals in both cities.Dozens of shops and residential buildings and several cars were devastated by the blast. The windows of the office of Geo News channel were blown out by the blast. Rescue workers said they feared several people could still be buried in the rubble of shops that had collapsed. The attack was the latest in a string of strikes that have killed more than 300 people over the past six weeks in the country. A late October blast in Peshawar had killed around 120 people in the deadliest attack to hit the country since 2007.Today's blast came amid a major army offensive against the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, which was launched on October 17.