19 killed in suicide bombing in Northwest Pakistan

A suicide bomber on Monday rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a police station in Lakki Marwat in Pakistan's north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, killing 19 people and injuring dozens more.

The information minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain while confirming the death toll said 19 including nine policemen and two children were killed in the attack, adding that 34 people, including 20 policemen, were wounded.

Eye witnesses told The Asian Tribune that four students and a female teacher were among the dead many students were also injured when an electric pole fell on their school van.

The bomber drove into the rear wall of the station, Lakki Marwat district police chief Gul Wali Khan said. Several nearby buildings were also damaged by the explosion, which left a large crater in the ground.

Militants have frequently carried out attacks in Lakki Marwat town bordering tribal areas of Pakistan where al-Qaida and Taliban are having bases.

Earlier this year, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a volleyball game, killing nearly 100 people in a village near the town in one of the deadliest attacks in the country

It was the third suicide attack in around a week in the country. More than 100 people died and over 400 were injured in bombings in eastern city of Lahore and south-western town of Quetta.

- Asian Tribune -