Suicide bomber kills 31 at funeral

LOWER DIR: Policemen pick-up the clothing and shoes of residents who were targeted by a suicide bomber during funeral prayers in Bero Shina, a town in
Related News

Quetta: 22 killed in twin blasts near commissioner office

48 killed in suicide attack on Jamrud mosque


Related Articles

Hidden hands behind Balochistan & Karachi Issues
By Zaheerul Hassan

U.S. Exit Strategy - Intrigues against Pakistan
By Zaheerul Hassan


• Zardari, Kayani review internal, external security
• Quetta: 22 killed in twin blasts near commissioner office
• Letter threatens to blow up SC building
• 48 killed in suicide attack on Jamrud mosque
• Jamrud Mosque Blast: 33 killed, 100 injured in suicide attack
• Blast kills 14 on Independence Day
• Twin blasts rocked Peshawar; 5 killed, 23 hurt

Related News Poll

• Can Pakistan and Afghanistan be successful in combating terror together?



LOWER DIR: A suicide bomber blew himself up during funeral prayers in Lower Dir on Thursday, killing 31 people and wounding 63 others, police said.
The attacker struck as mourners were preparing for prayers being held in open ground near cornfields in Jandol town in Lower Dir, 100 kilometres from Swat Valley. The blast came two days after four boys connected to another northwestern anti-militant group were killed in another explosion that was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack.
"The death toll has risen to 31 with 63 wounded in the attack," said senior police official Salim Khan Marwat, adding that the bomber targeted members of a state-sponsored anti-Taliban militia operating in the area.
He said the bomber's head had been retrieved from the scene and indicated that the attacker, who had hidden in the nearby fields, was in his late teens. "It was a suicide attack. A bomber came on foot and blew himself up in the middle of people as they were about to start prayers."
Local senior police official Akhtar Hayat Gandapur said there were more than 100 people attending the funeral. Witness Gull Rehman said he saw the attacker, who was killed in the bombing, describing him as a man with a long beard. Rehman said he was knocked down by the blast but he was able to get up and help transport the injured to hospitals.
The scene of the attack was strewn with bloodstained shoes in the blood-soaked grassy field, and officers collecting pieces of the bomb. The funeral was for Bakhat Khan, who was a member of a local "lashkar" or militia that is opposed to Taliban rule in the region, police said. He died Wednesday night. The tribesmen in the northwest have formed several such militias, for which they typically receive some government funding. They have had some success at stopping militant infiltration but are routinely struck by revenge attacks.
Many of the bloodiest bombings of the last three years have targeted "lashkar" members or their families.
On Tuesday, Taliban gunmen killed four children as they were returning from school close to the main northwestern city of Peshawar.
End.