Blast kills 5 in Bajaur tribal region

A bomb blast on Saturday killed at least five people in a Bajaur tribal region, officials in the region and hospital sources said.

The blast occurred outside gate of the agency’s main hospital in Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur tribal area, they said.

Hospital sources confirmed that five people died and five others were injured. They said that an employee of hospital was among those killed.

No group claimed responsibility. Authorities blame such attacks on the Taliban. Some sources say the bomb may have targeted security officials or pro-govt tribal elders.

Bajaur, bordering Afghanistan, had been a stronghold of the Taliban until 2008, however, the security forces cleared the region of Taliban militants as the result of major offensives.

Many security men and militants had been killed in the 2008-9 operations and some Taliban leaders had fled to neighbouring Afghanistan, officials say.

Afghan authorities arrested a senior Pakistani Taliban leader, Maulvi Faqir, in February, who is wanted to Pakistan for attacks on the security forces.

Faqir, who belongs to Bajaur, had been the deputy chief of the Taliban.

Afghan gov’t has refused to hand over Faqir to Pakistan on the plea that the two countries have no extradition treaty.

The blast has raised concerns about the security situation ahead of the May 11 elections.

Taliban had warned to attack public meetings of the PPP, ANP and the MQM.

On Friday, rockets killed two election campaigners in South Waziristan.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Apr 20 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.