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Pakistani tribesmen mourn 46 deaths in attack on peace jirga

Other News Materials 3 March 2008 12:25 (UTC +04:00)

(dpa) - Hundreds of mourners gathered in Darra Adam Khel area of north-west Pakistan on Monday for Muslim funeral prayers for 46 people killed in a suicide bombing at a meeting of tribal leaders a day ago, local media reports and officials said.

The bomber blew himself up on Sunday as the jirga was deliberating on the strategy to combat rising Islamic militancy in Darra Adam Khel, a semi-autonomous tribal area in the volatile North-West Frontier Province.

The victims included 58 injured in the attack, said Hamid Afridi, a medical officer at the local hospital.

The host of the tribal elders' meeting, Maulana Sabi Afrid, died in the blast. Another noted leader, Sher Afzal, who had recently returned from United Kingdom to initiate the peace process in the restive district, sustained injuries.

Markets, schools and government offices were closed in Darra Adam Khel to observe a call for three-day mourning period. Hundreds of people attended the funerals of the 42 identified victims.

Tensions begin to rise in Darra Adam Khel, a town known for illegal trade of arms and narcotics, in mid-2007 when the pro-Taliban militants bombed several video shops and girls' schools. In late January, they seized four trucks carrying munitions, triggering a military operation that killed 24 militants and 13 soldiers.

The severed head and legs of the suspected suicide bomber were recovered from the scene and sent for DNA test to the capital Islamabad, an official said on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan's tribal areas are safe havens for armed Islamic groups, as well as al-Qaeda militants and Taliban fighters who have launched cross-border attacks on international forces into Afghanistan.

However, the militants have turned inward and launch regular attacks against Pakistani security forces and political figures. More than 1,000 people have died alone in five dozens suicide attacks over the past 14 months.

Sunday's bombing came two days after a suicide bomber killed 50 people at a funeral of a policeman in Mangora in the same region.

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