[NYTr] 15 die in Pakistan suicide blast

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AP via CNN - Oct 1, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/01/pakistan.bombing.ap/index.html

15 die in Pakistan suicide blast

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- A burqa-clad woman blew herself up and
killed at least 15 people Monday at a crowded police checkpoint in
northwestern Pakistan, police said. It was believed to be the first
time a female suicide bomber has struck inside the country.

 The bombing, which injured 22 others, apparently was in a rickshaw
that was being examined at a police checkpoint around 8:25 a.m. local
time in the town of Bannu, said police officer Habib Khan.

Bannu police chief Ameer Hamza Mahsud said that investigation of the
bomb site confirmed that the attacker was a woman who was riding in the
rickshaw. He added that police had prior intelligence about the
possibility female suicide bombers would strike in the town.

While there have been reports of some women being trained to carry out
suicide bombings in Pakistan, Monday's attack appeared to be the first
confirmation of such an attack.

Mahsud said the casualty figures were high because scores of people
were milling about at a nearby bus stand.

The blast killed four police officers and 11 other people, including
the bomber, army spokesman Maj. Gen Waheed Arshad said. Because the
attack occurred in a public place, he said he did not believe it was
aimed at security forces.

 The district hospital in Bannu reported that at least seven of the
injured were in critical condition.

Bannu is near the North Waziristan tribal region, about 110 miles south
of Peshawar.

In recent months, militants have staged almost daily attacks on
security forces in North Waziristan since scrapping a peace agreement
with the government.

Militants accused authorities of violating the September 2006 deal by
redeploying troops to checkpoints vacated under terms of the accord.
Officials said the troops returned because of deteriorating security.
Most of the combat has taken place in the rugged mountains along the
Afghan border where the U.S. fears al-Qaeda is regrouping and that
Osama bin Laden is hiding.

Pakistan is a key ally of the U.S. in its war on terror and says it has
about 90,000 troops in the northwest tribal areas to combat militancy
and prevent infiltration into neighboring Afghanistan.