PESHAWAR - Thirty-seven people were killed and 52 injured when a suicide bomber ripped through a funeral congregation in Adezai village near here on Wednesday. The suicide attack, claimed by defunct Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), targeted mostly militiamen gathering to offer funeral for the sister of Hakim Khan, member of the Adezai Qaumi Amn Lashkar (AQAL), an anti-Taliban body. Kalam Khan is also one of the leaders of the Amn Lashkar and comes from a family fighting militancy in the region. The injured people were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and City Hospital Peshawar, wherein condition of 8 injured was stated to be critical. It was the second major strike in two days, as on Tuesday a blast ripped through a CNG station in the Punjab city of Faisalabad, killing at least 25. Sources said that during the funeral prayer at 11am, a suicide bomber of about 17 to 18 years joined the procession and blew himself up. According to an eyewitness, there were about 200 people at the funeral. Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site while volunteers had started rescue work. AQAL chief Dilawar Khan announced dismantling the Lashkar and vowed vengeance in own style. Police said the target of the suicide bomber was members of the AQAL and that a hand grenade was also found from the site. SSP Operations Peshawar Aijaz Khan and DCO Siraj Ahmad Khan confirmed 25 deaths. The slain included Abdul Rahman s/o Hassan Khan, Abdul Salam s/o Jan Muhammad, Amir Gul s/o Hamid Gul, Ayaz Khan s/o Mumtaz Khan, Ghulam Muhammad s/o Naik Muhammad, Gul Alam s/o Kareem Alam, Gul Khan s/o Zameer Gul, Gul Khan s/o Raza Khan, Gul Mas Khan s/o Tawas Khan, Gul Rahman s/o Jamal, Habibullah s/o Hamidullah, Haji Waris s/o Ajab Khan, Hayatullah s/o Naimatullah, Ibrar s/o Muhammad Khan, Ismail s/o Sharif Gul, M. Fayaz s/o Khabaz, Mir Baz Khan s/o Mian Khan, Mubarak Khan s/o Azam Khan, Murad Khan s/o Umar Gul, Musa Khan s/o Abdul Kalam, Naqeeb Gul s/o Sanajb Gul, Raz Muhammad s/o Noor Ahmad, Said Gul s/o Matha Wali, Said Kareem s/o Abdul Qayyum, Sanam Gul s/o Ahmad Gul, Shah Nawaz s/o Fazal Rahman, Sultan Muhammad s/o Babo, Taj Muhammad s/o Said Muhammad, Waris s/o Azmat Khan, while the names of six other persons, whose bodies are at LRH-Peshawar, were not immediately known. ANP central and provincial presidents Asfandyar Wali Khan and Afrasiab Khattak condemned the suicide blast at Adezai and expressed grief over the loss of lives. They said terrorists were indulging in cowardly acts to dent national unity, but the courage of the people and that of the government would not waver. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar also strongly condemned the suicide attack and said it is indeed shocking that innocent people are being targeted by terrorists. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti visited the Lady Reading Hospital to enquire after the blast victims. ANP Provincial President Senator Afraseyab Khattak, Senior Provincial Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour, Provincial Minister Mian Iftekhar Hussain, IGP Fayaz Khan Toro and CCPO Liaqat Ali Khan also accompanied him. Talking to the media, the chief minister said Aman Lashkar has an important role against militancy and keeping in view their sacrifices, it is the responsibility of the government to extend full support to the Lashkar. He said sufficient number of APC vehicle, special police force and regular police force are stationed in the area. He said that we are at war and establishment of peace in the country is difficult until restoration of normalcy to the entire region. He said needs of Aman Lashkar will be fulfilled. He assured financial assistance for the heirs of the Shuhadas and the injured. The chief minister assured compensation of Rs 300,000 for the heirs of each Shaheed and Rs 100,000 for each injured. Agencies add: A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility. These lashkars are raised to create chaos instead of maintaining peace, militant spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. The lashkars and the army are fighting us at the behest of the Americans. We will continue attacks on them, he said. It was not immediately clear if the Pashtun elder, Hakim Khan, had been killed or wounded in the explosion. Television footage showed elderly men wearing bloodstained clothes rushing from the scene in panic. Prayer caps and slippers lay alongside scattered body parts at the prayer site, which was spattered with blood. We have taken 37 dead bodies and 52 injured to the hospital, said Kalam Khan, a senior police officer at the site. The head of the main hospital in Peshawar, Abdul Hameed Afridi, told AFP that 36 bodies had been received along with body parts, and warned that the death toll could rise, with several people critically injured. Police officer Mohammad Ijaz Khan confirmed the bombers target. The target of the bombing was members of the anti-Taliban militia, Khan said. We have sent teams to remove the bodies and shift the injured to the hospital, he added. Villagers brought wooden carts to transport the dead and wounded, an AFP reporter at the scene said. Adezai village is known for clashes between the Taliban and pro-government militiamen, local police officer Siraj Ahmed told AFP.