The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide bombing in the country's northwest tribal area, which killed at least 43 people and injured 90 others, CNN said.
A suicide bomber attacked a crowd of people waiting for food aid in the Bajaur region bordering with Afghanistan. The explosion took place about 600 meters from a U.N. World Food Programme distribution point in the town of Khar, a spokesman for the agency was quoted by CNN as saying.
Azam Tariq, the central spokesperson for Pakistani Taliban, told the TV channel in a phone conversation that the blast targeted people who had formed what he called a pro-government and anti-Taliban group.
When asked whether the suicide bomber was a woman, Tariq said: "We have thousands of male suicide bombers ready who are keenly waiting for their turns. Then why would we use a woman, which is against the traditions of Islam?"
Iran's Press TV quoted doctors as saying the death toll in the blast is expected to rise further as many of those injured were in critical condition.
U.S. President Barack Obama has condemned the attack which he described as "an affront to the people of Pakistan and to all humanity."
Bajaur, which is widely seen by Pakistani authorities as a hotbed of Taliban forces, has been the scene of a military offensive by Pakistan's security forces against the militants since August, RIA Novosti reported.
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