Police in northwestern Pakistan say a suicide bomber has attacked a funeral attended by an anti-Taliban politician Sunday, killing at least 15 people.

Police say they believe politician Khusdil Khan may have been the target of the bombing. But they say Khan escaped unhurt from the blast.

Officials say more than 30 others were injured in the attack, and many of the wounded are in serious condition.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Khan is a member of the secular-leaning Awami National Party, and has launched a campaign against the militant groups in the region.

Local police officer Abid Rehman says the incident is part of the violent conflict between Pakistani security forces and Islamist militants in the region.

“You know the situation here; the operation is on going in the KPK (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region) and other parts of the country against the militants and the terrorists. It was a suicide attack and it's a chain of the past activities of the terrorists.”

The incident comes a day after Pakistani security forces claimed to have killed 39 militants in a security operation in the Bara district in the Khyber tribal region near Peshawar. Pakistani security forces are engaged in anti-Taliban operations in the lawless region along the Afghan border.