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WORLD / Asia-Pacific |
Suicide bomb in Pakistan kills 4(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-09 20:21 PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide bombing at the home of a Pakistan government minister in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed at least four people on Friday, police said. The minister was unhurt. The attack happened at the residence of the minister for political affairs, Amir Muqam, and also wounded three people, said Aslam Khan, a local police official. Muqam said he saw two or three dead in the blast - members of his security staff - and one of his brothers was wounded. "I saw two, three bodies on my veranda," Muqam said on state-run Pakistan Television. Muqam is the provincial chief of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party and a close ally of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Tahir Khan, the city's police chief, said it was a suicide attack. "I can confirm that it was suicide attack, but the minister is safe," he said. He said the attacker, who was on foot, blew himself up just inside the gate of Muqam's house when security personnel tried to stop him. Pakistan, particularly its northwest, has been wracked by Islamic militant violence, with bombings targeting the military or top officials, and clashes between security forces and pro-Taliban fighters. In April, a suicide bomber blew himself up just a few feet from Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, killing 28 other people, at a political rally in the northwestern town of Charsadda. Sherpao, Pakistan's top civilian security official, escaped with minor injuries. |
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