Pakistan - violence

Bombers kill 25 in separate attacks in northern Pakistan

Article published on the 2009-10-23 Latest update 2009-10-23 12:21 TU

A suicide blast occurred outside Pakistan Aeronautical Complex on Friday
(Photo: Reuters)

At least 25 people died in a fresh bout of violence in northern Pakistan on Friday. A suicide bomber killed eight people near an Air Force base and 16 others were killed when a landmine blew up a bus on its way to a wedding. Fifteen others were wounded by a bomb in Peshawar.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence but a series of attacks blamed on Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists has left at least 193 dead this month.

The first incident took place in the town of Kamra, some 80 kilometres west of Islamabad near the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), a base used to service, assemble and manufacture military aircraft.

According to the police, the eight people killed included six civilians and two Pakistan Air Force personnel as well as the bomber.

Police chief Fakhar Sultan said the attacker blew himself up when he was stopped at a security checkpoint on the main road used by both civilians and air force personnel.

"We have found a mutilated face, as well as other body parts, including legs and arms of the bomber," said Sultan.

It marks yet another attack on the military and comes at a time when the Pakistani government is waging a major campaign against the Taleban in South Waziristan.

Officials said the explosion in Peshawar was a car bomb, detonated in the wealthy district of Hayatabad.

According to The Dawn newspaper, the bomb went off outside the popular Swan restaurant at the Evergreen complex.

"It was a severe blast but people were not there at the time so there are not so many casualties," said police official Anwar Shah.

A few hours later, an anti-tank mine exploded under a minibus, killing 16 wedding guests in the Sorandara area of Mohmand on a road used by government forces on the Afghan border.

Most of those killed were women and children. Six others were wounded.

The same road is used extensively by Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps, which demolished several houses of suspected militants in the Sorandara area during raids Thursday.