Deadly grenade attack hits Pakistan cinema

At least 13 people were killed and 20 others wounded in a grenade attack targeting a cinema in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Tuesday. It was the second deadly attack on one of the city’s cinemas in less than 10 days, and came as the Pakistani government and Taliban met for a second time as part of efforts to end their seven-year conflict.

Tuesday's blast hit Shama cinema, which is known for showing adult-rated movies and is owned by the Bilour family, one of the most powerful political dynasties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

City police Chief Mohammad Ijaz Ahmed said three grenades were used in the attack and up to 80 people were in the cinema at the time.

Reports said there was a specific threat against the cinema in the past few weeks, leading to increased security, but staff had just returned to normal security levels when Tuesday’s attack occurred.

The blast is the second local attack in two days. In Peshawar, on Monday, a suicide bomber's explosive vest detonated in the house of a pro-government tribal elder, killing four women, police said. On Feb. 2, five people were killed and more than 30 others injured in a separate cinema attack.

No one claimed responsibility for any of the three attacks.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province lies in close proximity to tribal areas that serve as bases for several armed groups, including the Pakistani Taliban. Bashir Bilour, a former senior minister in the province, was killed in 2012 in a suicide attack.

Al Jazeera and wire services