Bomb Kills 35 in NW Pakistan

Posted January 10th, 2012 at 6:10 pm (UTC-5)
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A bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan Tuesday killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 60 others.

Local authorities said a remote-control car bomb exploded in the town of Jamrud in the Khyber tribal agency bordering Afghanistan. The blast struck near a bus terminal, destroying several vehicles.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But some officials said the attack targeted members of the Zakhakhel tribe, which has formed a militia to fight against the Taliban in the region.

Tuesday's bombing was the deadliest attack in Pakistan's northwest since last September, when a suicide bomber killed at least 31 people at a funeral for a tribal elder opposed to the Pakistani Taliban.

Early Wednesday, intelligence officials said a suspected U.S. drone strike targeting a militant compound on the outskirts of Miranshah in the North Waziristan tribal region killed at least three militants.

It was the first such strike since a November 26 NATO raid on Pakistani border posts that killed 24 soldiers. The attack further inflamed already damaged relations between the United States and Pakistan.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Tuesday's bombing in Jamrud and reiterated the U.N.'s solidarity with Pakistan as it continues efforts to confront terrorism and extremism.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said extremists who target innocent people and perpetrate such attacks show their “contempt for the value of human life.”