Bomb kills 13 wedding party members in Pakistan
A roadside bomb ripped through cars carrying wedding guests in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 13 people including the bride and wounding a dozen others, police said.
Children were also among the dead from the blast in the insurgency-hit Swat Valley, the first bomb attack in Pakistan since the country held largely peaceful parliamentary elections on Monday.
"There was a remote-controlled bomb explosion which targeted a wedding party. Two cars were destroyed including the car in which the bride was travelling, she died," local police officer Haroon Khan told AFP.
He said a total of 13 people were killed and more than a dozen wounded.
Some children were among the killed and injured, he said.
Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema confirmed that the bomb near the town of Matta targeted the wedding party. He earlier said that eight people were killed.
The Swat Valley was a famed tourist spot until the middle of last year when it became a flashpoint for violence between the military and followers of a hardline pro-Taliban cleric who tried to establish Islamic Sharia law.
The military launched an offensive in the Swat valley in November against the cleric, Maulana Fazlullah, killing and arresting hundreds of militants but failing to capture Fazlullah.
But militant activity has continued in the area.
A suicide car bombing outside an army media centre in Swat killed two civilians and wounded eight other people on Saturday, while a roadside bomb targeting an election candidate on February 13 killed two people.
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