HANGU, June 22: At least 20 persons were killed, most of them children, and over 15 were injured when an explosive device went off on Saturday morning in the house, where a marriage ceremony was taking place, in the far-flung Karez area of Orakzai Agency, officials and eyewitnesses said.

They told Dawn that the dead also included the bridegroom, Gul Ahmed, his 15 family members and three guests, who had come from Haripur to attend the marriage.

Marriage ceremony of Gul Ahmad was in full swing at Khanano Kallay when the explosion occurred inside the house. Locals rushed to the scene, removed the bodies and took the injured to the hospitals in Kohat and Peshawar, the eyewitnesses said.

Political officials of the Orakzai Agency, when contacted by telephone, stated that the death toll had crossed 20.

Names of the dead: Laiq Khan, Anooz Khan, Sardar Ali, Laees Khan, Bihar Ali, Noor Hassan, Nizam ALi, Taj Mohammad, Israr Ali, Mukarram Khan, Nizam Ali, Musaddiq Hussain, Mumtaz Ali, Nisar ALi, Iftikhar Ali and Mumtaz Ali.

The three guests killed in the explosion were identified as Amjad Iqbal, Nadeem Hassan and Danish Khan. One of the killed could not be identified.

The injured admitted to a hospital in Kohat included Mudassir, Naqib Ali, Naimat Ali, Bilal, Sajid Ali, Zameer Ali, Taj Mohammad, Mohammad Sarwar, Mohammad Aqeel, Mohammad Nazim and Mohammad Kamal — all were stated to be stable.