Islamabad, Sep 18 (DPA) A suicide blast ripped through a crowded market Friday in Pakistan's conflict-torn North West Frontier Province, killing at least 33 people and injuring dozens more, police said.

The powerful explosion took place in Ustarzai, a small Shia Muslim-dominated village on the fringes of the garrison town of Kohat, 60 km south of the provincial capital, Peshawar.

Following the attack, Pakistani security forces targeted the militants' positions and killing 13 rebels.

The suicide bombing destroyed 25 shops and a two-story hotel. The rescue workers sifted through the rubble for hours to recover the bodies and survivors.

Kohat police spokesman Fazal Naeem confirmed that 33 people died and said 60 more had been taken to hospitals.

'The market was packed with the people doing shopping for Eidal Fitr (Muslim Festival that ends fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan),' Naeem told DPA.

According to Naeem the casualty count was also so high because the blast site was near a busy junction of roads leading to other towns.

'The bomber detonated his explosives-laden, white-coloured car in the middle of the market,' said another police officer, Ali Hassan.

Eight vehicles were also mangled by the force of the blast, he said.

An official from the private Edhi Foundation Ambulance Service claimed their volunteers had moved 38 bodies to the hospitals.