Islamabad, Sep 15: A suicide bomber struck at a funeral of an anti-Taliban tribal elder in northwest Pakistan today, killing 26 people during the prayers and injuring over 50 others.
The bomber detonated the bomb as the ‘namaz-e-janaza' of Safeer Sultan Khan was underway in Jandol area of Lower Dir district in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province this afternoon, police officials and witnesses said. As many as 26 people were killed by the powerful blast, Geo news reported.
The injured were taken to hospitals in nearby towns. Police said the attack was directed against the relatives of the tribal elder, who had formed an anti-Taliban militia and played a role in combating militancy.
The elder whose funeral was targeted was the nephew of Malik Muhammad Zareen, a prominent tribal leader who was himself killed in a suicide attack in Kunar province of Afghanistan in April, the channel reported.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack. However, such incidents are usually blamed on the Pakistani Taliban.
The militants have in the past carried out suicide attacks on funerals of pro-government tribal elders and police officers. PTI
