Motorcycle bomber kills 13 in Pakistan
Source: Agencies |
March 31, 2011, Thursday
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A SUICIDE bomber on a motorcycle attacked a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, blowing himself up beside a crowd gathered to greet a prominent hardline Islamist politician and killing 13 people, police said.
The bomber detonated his explosives just outside the checkpoint when a policeman told him to halt, said Saeed Khan, a police official in Peshawar city. The blast killed the policeman and 12 civilians nearby, said Khan. Another 12 people were wounded.
The attack occurred in Swabi town, some 70 kilometers from the capital Islamabad.
Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, passed through the checkpoint minutes before the bomber struck and was unharmed, said Khan.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. An attack targeting Rehman or his supporters would be unusual - but not unheard of - because of their hardline views.
The most prominent militant sympathizer reportedly killed by insurgents was former Pakistani spy Sultan Amir Tarar - known as Colonel Imam - who helped the Taliban rise to power in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
In February, the Pakistani Taliban said they shot and killed Tarar after holding him captive for 10 months because the government failed to meet their demands. The Pakistani Taliban has links to its Afghan brethren but is focused on fighting the Pakistani state.
The Pakistani government disputed the Taliban's claims, saying Tarar died of a heart attack in January.
The bomber detonated his explosives just outside the checkpoint when a policeman told him to halt, said Saeed Khan, a police official in Peshawar city. The blast killed the policeman and 12 civilians nearby, said Khan. Another 12 people were wounded.
The attack occurred in Swabi town, some 70 kilometers from the capital Islamabad.
Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, passed through the checkpoint minutes before the bomber struck and was unharmed, said Khan.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. An attack targeting Rehman or his supporters would be unusual - but not unheard of - because of their hardline views.
The most prominent militant sympathizer reportedly killed by insurgents was former Pakistani spy Sultan Amir Tarar - known as Colonel Imam - who helped the Taliban rise to power in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
In February, the Pakistani Taliban said they shot and killed Tarar after holding him captive for 10 months because the government failed to meet their demands. The Pakistani Taliban has links to its Afghan brethren but is focused on fighting the Pakistani state.
The Pakistani government disputed the Taliban's claims, saying Tarar died of a heart attack in January.
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