Pakistan's deadliest day in months: Bomb kills 25 Pakistan's deadliest day in months: Bomb kills 25 - Pakistan Pakistan's deadliest day in months: Bomb near bus kills 25 'It was huge blast and caused damage to a number of vehicles at the bus terminal,' witness says PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A bomb exploded close to a bus in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 25 people in the deadliest blast in the country in several months, a government official said. The motive for the attack in the Khyber region, close to the Afghan border, was not known, but in the past Islamist militants have shown no hesitation in targeting civilians. Khyber is home to several extremist factions that are fighting the government. "It was huge blast and caused damage to a number of vehicles at the bus terminal," Khyber tribesman Khan Zaman told Reuters from the Jamrud bazaar, 15 miles west of Peshawar. Most of the victims were passengers on the bus, said local government official Iqbal Khan. The blast wounded at least 24 other people. He said that the device was likely detonated by remote control. Islamist militants with links to al-Qaida have carried out hundreds of bombings in Pakistan since 2007. Many hundreds of soldiers, police, government officials and civilians have been killed. Resilient foe The Pakistani army has carried out offensives against the militants in their strongholds in tribally administered regions like Khyber, but the insurgents have proven to be a resilient foe. The violence has triggered fears in the West that nuclear-armed Pakistan may be buckling under extremism. The frequency of large-scale attacks outside of the northwest has decreased over the last 18 months. The last major bombing was in September close to the Swat Valley, when a suicide bomber hit a funeral of a tribal elder opposed to the Taliban, killing 31 people. On Monday, sources said the bodies of 10 Pakistani soldiers and 10 Taliban fighters killed in a clash in Pakistan's largely lawless northwest last month have been exchanged. The grisly swap came just days after the bodies of 15 Pakistani soldiers, captured on December 23 after dozens of Taliban militants stormed a paramilitary fort in the northwestern Tank district, were discovered. Their bodies, with gunshot wounds and signs of torture, had been found in the Thal area of the northwestern Hangu district on January 5. This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.