Over 40 dead in Pakistan suicide blast

The attack in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border came a day after a big clash between Pakistani Taliban insurgents and security forces in the neighbouring Mohmand region that left 11 soldiers and 24 militants dead.

A government official in Bajaur, Wisal Ahmed, said the people gathering to get food rations had been forced from their homes by earlier fighting between the security forces and the al Qaeda-linked militants.

Hundreds of militants have been killed and many of their strongholds have been captured but the insurgents have shown the ability to strike back and have killed hundreds of people in a campaign of bomb attacks across the country.

A senior military official in October said it would take at least six months to clear militants from Bajaur and Mohmand. Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version