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16 June 2012| last updated at 03:03PM

At least 11 dead in Pakistan blast



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PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A bomb ripped through a market area in a northwest Pakistan tribal town near the Afghan border on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 20, officials said.

 

The blast took place in the main bazaar of Landi Kotal in Khyber tribal  district, local administration official Arshad Khan said.
 
“The bomb exploded near a bus stand and initial reports said 11 people died  and more than 20 were wounded,” Khan told AFP.
 
Irfan Ahmed, a doctor at the state run Landi Kotal Hospital, put the toll  at 12 dead.
 
“We have received 12 bodies and more than 20 wounded. Some are in serious  condition,” he said.
 
Khan said the blast appeared to be aimed at members of the pro-government  Zakha Khel tribe, who oppose a local warlord.
 
Nobody claimed responsibility but Islamist militants have carried out  several attacks in the area.
 
Pakistan is on the frontline of the US-led war on Al-Qaeda and Taliban  militants, who Washington says use the semi-autonomous tribal areas as a global  hub.
 
Since July 2007, a Taliban-led insurgency concentrated in the northwest has  been fighting against the US-allied government.
 
In the last five years, attacks blamed on Islamist bombers have killed more  than 5,000 people according to an AFP tally. -- AFP

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