Suicide attack at funeral of tribal elder
ISLAMABAD: At least 30 people were killed and more than 60 injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the funeral of a pro-government tribal elder in a volatile village of north-west Pakistan on Thursday.
The blast took place in Samarbagh village close to the Afghan border in Lower Dir district, an area which has witnessed considerable militant activity in the past. Following military operations against Taliban insurgents in Dir district, the locals had raised tribal volunteer militias, known as aman (peace) committees, to defend themselves against Taliban attacks. Some locals said that this latest bombing may be a reprisal for the tribal militia.
"It was a suicide attack and 30 people were killed and 60 wounded. The explosion took place when people were offering funeral prayers," senior police official Saleem Marwat said.
Marwat added that the death toll could further rise as many of the injured were in critical condition.
Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks on pro-government tribes recently. They ambushed a school bus on Tuesday near the north-western city of Peshawar killing five children. Taliban said that the children on the bus were from pro-government tribe which raised a 'lashkar' (volunteer force) against them. Pakistan's US-supported government has persuaded some Pashtun tribes in the north-west to take up arms against militant groups in their areas.
The Pakistani Taliban abducted more than 30 young men into Afghanistan from another pro-government Pashtun tribe in restive Bajaur tribal region on August 31. The militants demanded the release of scores of prisoners and an end to offensives against them.
Pakistani Taliban led by Maulvi Faqir and Maulana Fazlullah (Mullah Radio) shifted their activities to Afghanistan's Kunar province after the government dismantled their setups in Bajuar tribal region and Swat district. They carried out several attacks on security forces and members of volunteer militias from their sanctuaries in Afghanistan. In one of the recent attacks, Taliban killed dozens of security personnel and civilians in the mountainous Chitral district.
No group has claimed the responsibility of the Thursday's attack but funerals of tribal leaders in the north-west had been targeted by Taliban before.
At least 27 people died in February 2009 in a bomb attack at the funeral of a Shia Muslim cleric who had been gunned down just days earlier in the restive district of Dera Ismail Khan. A similar attack on the funeral of police official in Swat had killed 49 people the same year.
The blast took place in Samarbagh village close to the Afghan border in Lower Dir district, an area which has witnessed considerable militant activity in the past. Following military operations against Taliban insurgents in Dir district, the locals had raised tribal volunteer militias, known as aman (peace) committees, to defend themselves against Taliban attacks. Some locals said that this latest bombing may be a reprisal for the tribal militia.
"It was a suicide attack and 30 people were killed and 60 wounded. The explosion took place when people were offering funeral prayers," senior police official Saleem Marwat said.
Marwat added that the death toll could further rise as many of the injured were in critical condition.
Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks on pro-government tribes recently. They ambushed a school bus on Tuesday near the north-western city of Peshawar killing five children. Taliban said that the children on the bus were from pro-government tribe which raised a 'lashkar' (volunteer force) against them. Pakistan's US-supported government has persuaded some Pashtun tribes in the north-west to take up arms against militant groups in their areas.
The Pakistani Taliban abducted more than 30 young men into Afghanistan from another pro-government Pashtun tribe in restive Bajaur tribal region on August 31. The militants demanded the release of scores of prisoners and an end to offensives against them.
Pakistani Taliban led by Maulvi Faqir and Maulana Fazlullah (Mullah Radio) shifted their activities to Afghanistan's Kunar province after the government dismantled their setups in Bajuar tribal region and Swat district. They carried out several attacks on security forces and members of volunteer militias from their sanctuaries in Afghanistan. In one of the recent attacks, Taliban killed dozens of security personnel and civilians in the mountainous Chitral district.
No group has claimed the responsibility of the Thursday's attack but funerals of tribal leaders in the north-west had been targeted by Taliban before.
At least 27 people died in February 2009 in a bomb attack at the funeral of a Shia Muslim cleric who had been gunned down just days earlier in the restive district of Dera Ismail Khan. A similar attack on the funeral of police official in Swat had killed 49 people the same year.
Comments