A suicide bomber blew himself up in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday, killing at least five people including a senior police officer and wounding more than 30, officials said.
The blast ripped through a congested area of the city, which lies close to Pakistan's lawless tribal areas and is frequently hit by bombings, around 9:00 am (0400 GMT).
Police official Badshah Khan said the bomber, who was on foot, targeted the vehicle of senior investigator Hilal Haider, killing him and a number of his colleagues.
Another officer, Imran Shahid, told AFP there were five dead including three policemen.
Hospital officials and senior administration official Habibullah Arif confirmed the death toll.
"The dead included three police officials and two civilians," Arif said, adding that 36 injured people were taken to the hospital with at least eight of them in a critical condition.
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a gateway to the semi-autonomous tribal belt along the Afghan border, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists have strongholds.
Suicide and bomb attacks blamed on Islamist insurgents have killed more than 5,200 people since July 2007 across nuclear-armed Pakistan.