A suicide bomber killed five people in Pakistan's Swat Valley today, police said, fuelling fears of a Taliban comeback in the area a year after a major army offensive routed the group.
Pakistan says a series of security crackdowns that began in Swat hurt militants fighting to topple the government, which is under pressure from Washington to help stabilise Afghanistan.
Renewed violence in Swat over the last few weeks has raised concerns that militants are regrouping in the area while the army tries to consolidate gains in other parts of the northwest and return displaced people to their homes.
The attacker blew himself up in a hostel after being surrounded by government forces near Sohrab Khan market in the town of Mingora, 130km northwest of the capital Islamabad, Swat police chief Qazi Ghulam Farooq said.
He said the bomber killed himself, three civilians and two militants who had been apprehended and lead government forces to the location. Another militant was shot dead by security forces in a raid at the site.
"The Taliban may be trying to come back. But there is no way we will allow it. We will catch them everywhere," Mr Farooq said.
The Swat operation last year involved 30,000 troops backed by airstrikes. Some 4,000 Taliban had taken control of Swat.
Reuters