Peshawar:
A suicide bomber targeted a gathering organised by the Awami National Party at Timergara
in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 25 people and injuring about 100 others.
The blast occurred at a rest house in the market of Timergara, the headquarters of Lower Dir district, where the ANP had organised a gathering to celebrate the government's decision to rename the North West Frontier Province as Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.
At least 25 people were killed and about 100 others injured in the blast, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (Malakand division) Qazi Jamilur Rahman said.
Rahman and senior ANP leader Zahid Khan confirmed it was a suicide attack.
Several witnesses said they had seen police firing at the suicide bomber before he detonated his explosives.
TV news channels beamed footage of bloodstained bodies lying in the lawn outside the rest house as people carried the injured away from the site.
Security forces cordoned off the area and an emergency was declared in nearby hospitals.
Hospital officials said they feared the death toll could rise.
A large number of people had gathered for the celebrations organised by the ANP, which leads the ruling coalition in the NWFP.
Several government offices are located near the rest house where the blast occurred.
The Maidan area near Timergara was a key stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban till the army launched a major offensive last year to evict militants from Buner, Dir and Swat regions of the NWFP.
The Timergara area was also a key base for Sufi Muhammad, the chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi.
DIG Rahman said security forces had effectively controlled the activities of militants in the region and they could no longer carry out attack in groups.
"However, some elements are still present in the area and they are trying to spread terror," he said.
in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 25 people and injuring about 100 others.
The blast occurred at a rest house in the market of Timergara, the headquarters of Lower Dir district, where the ANP had organised a gathering to celebrate the government's decision to rename the North West Frontier Province as Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.
At least 25 people were killed and about 100 others injured in the blast, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (Malakand division) Qazi Jamilur Rahman said.
Rahman and senior ANP leader Zahid Khan confirmed it was a suicide attack.
Several witnesses said they had seen police firing at the suicide bomber before he detonated his explosives.
TV news channels beamed footage of bloodstained bodies lying in the lawn outside the rest house as people carried the injured away from the site.
Security forces cordoned off the area and an emergency was declared in nearby hospitals.
Hospital officials said they feared the death toll could rise.
A large number of people had gathered for the celebrations organised by the ANP, which leads the ruling coalition in the NWFP.
Several government offices are located near the rest house where the blast occurred.
The Maidan area near Timergara was a key stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban till the army launched a major offensive last year to evict militants from Buner, Dir and Swat regions of the NWFP.
The Timergara area was also a key base for Sufi Muhammad, the chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi.
DIG Rahman said security forces had effectively controlled the activities of militants in the region and they could no longer carry out attack in groups.
"However, some elements are still present in the area and they are trying to spread terror," he said.
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