Mingora: A suicide car bomber shot at guards and detonated his explosives at the gate of a paramilitary base in northwestern Pakistan before dawn on Monday, killing one soldier and wounding a dozen other people.
The bomber first tried to force his way onto the base in Lower Dir district by shooting at troops and policemen guarding the gate, said Maj Suleman Khan, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps. He blew himself up after realising he couldn't penetrate the base, said Khan.
The explosion killed one soldier and wounded 12 other people, including 10 troops and two policemen, said Raffat Ali, a local police officer. Two civilians were wounded by retaliatory fire from the troops and policemen trying to repel the bomber, said Ali.
Lower Dir is near the Afghan border and was a militant stronghold until the spring of 2009 when a military offensive there and in neighbouring Swat reclaimed the area from insurgents. But sporadic violence still occurs.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, July 05, 2010, 11:45