A suicide bomber detonated the explosives he had on him killing 13 people and wounding 22 other in the northwestern Pakistani city of Mardan. The bloodshed occurred at about 7 pm (7.30 pm IST) on Sunday as the bomber blew himself up in a crowded area of a city market, authorities said.

The market owned by the Punjab Regimental Centre was very crowded making it an ideal target for a bomb attack.

The number of dead and wounded was confirmed by the North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain. Among the dead there were also four soldiers according to an army spokesman.

"It could be an attempt to disrupt the peace talks," said Bashir Bilour, senior minister for North West Frontier Province.

The bomb attack comes after the recent progress made in talks between the rebels and Pakistan's new coalition government, which defeated allies of President Pervez Musharraf in the elections held in March.

The talks between the two sides were accompanied by a relatively quite period which came after a wave of bomb attacks across the country over the past year that killed around 1,000 people.

The injured, including six security personnel, were taken to the nearest hospitals and those who suffered severe wounds were rushed to the North West Frontier Province capital of Peshawar.

The bomber detonated the explosives at the entrance of a bakery as security personnel were trying to stop him, said Deputy Inspector General of police Akhtar Ali Shah. The suicide bomber was in his twenties, officials said.

Local Taliban commanders claimed responsibility for the attack.