Violence spreads along Pak-Afghan border

Indian nuns walk through the entrance to the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi yesterday, where placards are on display during a protest prayer meeting against ongoing violence in the eastern Indian state of Orissa specifically targeting Christians in the wake of the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Lakshamanananda Saraswati. Photo: AFP

Suspected militants bombed a bus carrying prisoners in northwest Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 10 people, as fighting between security forces and extremists flared across the country's tribal belt.
The powerful blast left a massive crater in the middle of a bridge in Bannu and left the burnt-out vehicle completely mangled.
The fresh violence comes days after ex-president Pervez Musharraf, a longtime US ally, resigned as president, triggering a scramble for power that caused the country's ruling coalition to collapse.
The party long led by slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is now in a position to dominate the government and it is toughening its stance against Islamist extremists.
The Pakistani Taliban, meanwhile, are becoming increasingly bold, claiming responsibility for a wave of suicide bombings and gun attacks.
There was no immediate claim for Thursday's attack, though police said militants were the likely culprits. It happened as a van carrying prisoners crossed a bridge in the North West Frontier Province, said Waqas Ahmad, an area police chief.
The dead included police officers and prisoners, said Jalil Khan, another police official. But he could not provide an exact breakdown.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack Thursday, though police said militants were the likely culprit. It happened as a bus carrying prisoners crossed a bridge in Bannu, a town in the North West Frontier Province, said Waqas Ahmad, an area police chief.
Hours earlier, security forces drove off a Taliban attack on a fort and pounded another band of militants holed up in a health centre, officials said Wednesday as fighting spread to new areas in the tribal belt along the Afghan border.
Pakistani troops Thursday killed five militants in attacks on Taliban hideouts in a northwestern region near the Afghan border, security officials said.
Troops fired mortar and artillery shells on several villages in Bajaur district in which five rebels died and seven were wounded, a security official said.
On Wednesday troops killed up to 50 militants in the area, including some important Taliban commanders and foreign fighters, military officials said.