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Blast kills six in north-west Pakistan

Other News Materials 27 December 2009 10:00 (UTC +04:00)
An explosion tore through the home of a government employee in Pakistan's troubled Kurram tribal district on Sunday, killing him and five other family members, an official said, dpa reported.
Blast kills six in north-west Pakistan

An explosion tore through the home of a government employee in Pakistan's troubled Kurram tribal district on Sunday, killing him and five other family members, an official said, dpa reported.

   The blast occurred at the house of Sarfraz Khan, a draftsman, in the Sadda town, located 35 kilometers south-east of the district's main city of Parachinar.

   Khan, his wife and four children died in the bombing, local official Saifullah said. One girl was also injured.

   No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell on Islamist militants seeking revenge for ongoing military operations against them in the region.

   Kurram is one of Pakistan's seven lawless tribal districts, where hundreds of Taliban militants fleeing a major offensive in the nearby South Waziristan badlands are believed to have taken refuge.

   More than 30,000 soldiers backed by jet aircraft and attack helicopters launched the operation in South Waziristan on October 17.

   The army says more than 600 rebels and 81 soldiers have been killed during the offensive.

   The US government describes the rugged tribal belt as the most dangerous place on earth, that is used by al-Qaeda and Taliban militants to mount cross-border assaults on Western forces fighting the insurgency in Afghanistan.

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