A car bomb exploded at a market in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 45, officials said.

They also said that the death toll was likely to climb because many people had been walking along a narrow road beside the market in the town of Parachinar in the Kurram tribal area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but the Pakistani Taliban, which is close to the Al Qaeda, has staged similar attacks in its bid to topple the US-backed government.

Pakistan's military, one of the world's biggest, has failed to break the back of the militant groups despite launching several offensives against their strongholds in the northwest.

Suicide bombings have eased over the last year but it's not clear if that was due to pressure from the army or a shift in Taliban tactics.