Peshawar: A teenage suicide bomber blew
himself up at a gathering a north-western Pakistani town on
Thursday, but guests escaped unhurt in the attack in a
Taliban-troubled district, police said.
Senior police official Mohammad Ayub told agency it was a
"miracle" that no one was wounded or killed in the bombing in
Essakkhel village in Bannu district, which borders the Taliban
strongholds of North and South Waziristan.
"A young boy aged 13 or 14 blew himself up in the
middle of guests who were visiting the house of a local
political leader to congratulate him on performing the hajj,"
Ayub said.
"It was just a miracle that nobody was hurt in the
attack," he said. The boy was killed by his suicide vest, but
police said it was possible that not all the explosives
detonated, while a hand grenade the bomber was carrying was
also defused at the scene.
Pakistani troops this year launched multiple
operations against extremists across the northwest tribal
belt, and militants have responded with a fierce and deadly
bombing campaign across the country.
More than 2,700 people have been killed in militant
strikes in Pakistan since July 2007, with October and November
this year seeing a surge in suicide bombings targeting
civilians in major cities.
PTI
