11 killed in bombing near Pakistani army base
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of an army base in Pakistan’s militancy-plagued northwest, killing at least 11 people, including four soldiers.
The attack Sunday was the deadliest in more than two months and could complicate efforts by the new government to reach peace deals with militants. The talks have already been buffeted by a suspected U.S. missile strike that left several dead in a nearby tribal area.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility.
The attacker detonated his explosives in a market between a bakery and the gate of the Punjab Regimental Center in the city of Mardan.
Police Chief Akhtar Ali Shah said 11 people were killed and 22 wounded. Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the army’s top spokesman, said four of the dead were soldiers guarding the gate of the base, which appeared to have been the target.
Abbas said the bomber blew himself up when he was stopped by one of the soldiers. He said that the bakery is also run by the regimental center and that the commercial area is routinely guard by army soldiers.
Mussarat Khan, a witness at Mardan hospital, said at least 12 people were taken there. Security forces cordoned off the blast site and were collecting evidence, Abbas said.
