Official: Suicide blast kills 8 in NW Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber attacked the convoy of a regional police chief in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing three police officers and five civilians, officials said.
The attacker, who was on foot, hit the first vehicle in the convoy as it emerged from the police chief's residence in the city of Mardan. District mayor Himayat Ali said eight people died and another 15 were wounded.
Mardan lies in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan where police and security forces are often attacked by Taliban militants.
Police chief Akhtar Ali Shah, who escaped unhurt, told reporters that he didn't see the attacker but heard a large explosion at the main gate moments after he got into his vehicle.
"I was the target but such attacks cannot stop us from doing our duty," said Shah.
TV footage showed a badly damaged police pickup truck just outside the police chief's residence and rescue workers loading bloodied survivors into ambulances.
No group claimed responsibility for the blast.
Rising violence as well as mounting economic problems are fanning concern for the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan. The bloodshed has also put strain on the country's seven-year anti-terror alliance with the United States.
Islamabad accuses Washington of fanning religious extremism by carrying out unilateral missile strikes on suspected Taliban and al-Qaida hideouts in its territory. U.S. officials have praised a military crackdown in the Bajur region bordering Afghanistan that Pakistani officials say has killed 1,500 insurgents.
However, missile strikes apparently carried out by U.S. drones have continued in other parts of the border zone, which is considered a possible hiding place for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
