Pakistan: 13 Killed in Grenade Attack on Porn Movie Theatre

Thirteen people have been killed in a grenade attack on a crowded cinema in pakistan that had been accused of showing pornography.

More than 20 movie-goers were wounded after three grenades exploded in the auditorium of the Shama cinema in Peshawar.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack which happened during a screening of a movie called Yarana, Pashto for friendship. The number of assailants was unknown.

Peshawar is near the troubled Afghan border area where Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants are active. It has been the scene of Islamist terror attacks in the past.

The cinema's backroom pornographic screenings have angered Islamist hardliners who have an extremely conservative attitude to sex and nudity. The movie house has been targeted in the past.

Owned by an influential local family that supports the Pashtun nationalist ANP party, an enemy of the Taliban, the Shama was burnt down in 2012.

The manager of the cinema, Fayaz Khan, said he had not received any threats before the latest attack.

It came just days after the Pakistan government opened peace negotiations with Taliban militants to end the violence that has killed more than 40,000 people in recent years.