Suicide truck bomb kills 32 in Pakistan
PESHAWAR. May 27. KAZINFORM A suicide bomber in a pickup truck detonated his explosives near several government offices in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 32 people, in the latest violence to hit the country since the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden; Kazinform refers to Arab News.
The Pakistani Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack. Its devastation was likely to add to criticism of the government, already under fire over the unilateral US operation to kill the Al-Qaeda chief and the mounting bloodshed since.
The attack came as Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, landed in Pakistan for talks with top military and civilian leaders. Earlier Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stressed the importance of strengthening Washington-Islamabad ties, which have frayed badly since the Bin Laden raid.
Hangu is located just outside Pakistan's lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. The tribal areas have long been havens for Al-Qaeda and other militants, including Pakistani Taleban fighters, who oppose the Pakistani government because of its alliance with the United States.
The bomb went off near several government buildings, including the district commissioner's office. Those buildings for the most part escaped the blast, officials said, but many shops and other structures nearby were damaged.
At least 32 people were killed and 56 were wounded, said a Pakistani official, Mir Chaman Khan. Most of the victims were civilians, including many in a nearby restaurant.
Around 900 pounds of explosives were used, said Masood Afridi, a high-ranking police official.
The May 2 US raid that killed Bin Laden damaged the Pakistani government and military's reputation, with many Pakistanis asking how Bin Laden could have hidden in an army town, and how the Americans managed to enter the country, carry out the raid and leave Pakistani airs pace without being detected.
On Thursday a US official said Pakistan has agreed to allow the CIA access to Bin Laden's compound. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the contacts, did not say when this would happen.
Since the raid, Pakistani Taleban militants have claimed responsibility for several major attacks in Pakistan, including an extraordinary 18-hour siege of a naval base that killed 10 people, saying they were retaliating for the Bin Laden killing. The attacks have further embarrassed the government and the country's powerful security establishment; Kazinform cites Arab News.
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