Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud has claimed that the controversial US security firm Blackwater was behind the deadly bomb attack on a market in Peshawar that killed more than 100 people.

Hakimullah said why the Taliban should target the public when it was capable of carrying out attacks in Islamabad and targeting the Army headquarters.

In an interview with BBC Urdu, Hakimullah claimed that Blackwater and “Pakistani agencies” were involved in attacks in public places to discredit the militants.

A powerful car bomb exploded at a crowded market in Peshawar on Wednesday, killing more than 100 and injuring 200 more. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Reports in the Pakistani media have claimed that Blackwater has established a presence in the country by tying up with local security firms but these allegations have been rejected by the US administration.

When Hakimullah was asked about the perception among people that militants are involved in attacks on public places, he said: “Our war is against the government and the security forces and not against the people. We are not involved in blasts.”

Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq, who was present along with Hakimullah, warned that the militants could target media organisations that are “defaming” the Taliban.

NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas have blamed militants for the blast in Peshawar.

They said militants are targeting the people because they are facing defeat in South Waziristan tribal region, where the Army has launched a major ground offensive.