Twin blasts in the north-western Pakistan city of Peshawar killed at least 38 people on Sunday at a market near a police station, the third attack in the provincial capital in a week.

Eight children and five women were among the dead, police official Altaf Hussain said.

Hussain said more than 100 people were injured by one of the bombs, planted in a car parked near a market in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber—Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to Shafkat Malik, a bomb disposal official, the bomb had more than 200 kilograms of explosives along with shells and ball bearings.

Hussain said a smaller bomb went off before the big explosion.

The final death toll was expected to rise as several victims were in critical condition, said Iftikhar Ali, a doctor at Lady Reading Hospital.

Vehicles and shops reportedly caught fire, and a witness told Geo television that he saw human limbs scattered at the site.

The attack occurred amid reports that the government is planning to open peace talks with Islamist militants operating from the north—western region.

One week ago, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a Christian church, killing more than 80 worshippers.

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