PAKISTAN:A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up among mourners at a police funeral, killing at least 38 people in northwest Pakistan yesterday on Friday, intelligence officials said.
The attack in Swat district came days after the military said it had cleared most areas in the mountainous region of Islamist militants, who it had been battling there for months, aside from a few pockets of resistance.
"The blast occurred after people had offered prayers and pall-bearers were carrying the coffin for a police salute," said deputy superintendent Karamat Shah. He was among more than 500 mourners at the funeral for a senior colleague in Swat district.
The policeman being buried was one of three policemen killed earlier yesterday when their van struck a roadside bomb in another region of North West Frontier Province, where Taliban and al- Qaeda fighters are active.
Mohammad Khan, the senior doctor at the hospital in Saidu Sharif in Swat, said 34 bodies had been received and more than 50 people were being treated for wounds after the attack.
But intelligence officials said the death toll was at least 38, and Mr Shah said he saw some people carrying bodies of relatives home to prepare them for burial.
The funeral was being held after dusk in accordance with Muslim custom. Mr Shah said a power cut immediately after the blast added to confusion.
The earlier roadside bomb occurred near Bannu, a town at the gateway to North Waziristan. -