Four Dead in Pakistan Bomb Attack on Anti-Taliban Militia Member

Posted October 25th, 2011 at 5:50 am (UTC-5)
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Pakistani officials say a roadside bomb killed an anti-Taliban militia member and three others in the country's restive northwest on Tuesday.

Police say the improvised explosive device targeted the vehicle of Aziz ur-Rehman in a remote area of Pakistan's Lower Dir region, which borders the country's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border.

Rehman, his 12-year-old son and two others were killed in the blast. At least two others were also wounded.

It is not immediately clear who is responsible for the attack. Pakistan's northwest tribal belt is a known stronghold for al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants.

Pakistan has long encouraged the formation of local militias, known as lashkars, to help in the fight against the Taliban, especially in remote areas near the Afghan border. Members of the lashkars are often the targets of militant violence.

Pakistan's military carried out an offensive against militants in the region in 2009, but sporadic violence has continued there.