A police official says the death toll from a suicide bombing of a crowd gathered along a road in north-western Pakistan to greet a prominent hard-line Islamist politician has risen to 13.
Police official Saeed Khan says the bomber in Wednesday’s strike was riding a motorcycle and the attack occurred near a police checkpoint in Swabi town, some 44 miles (70 kilometers) outside the capital Islamabad. The dead included 12 civilians and one policeman. Another 12 people were wounded.
The crowd was lined up on either side of the road to greet Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of Jamiat Ulema Islam, one of the country’s strongest hard-line political parties. Mr. Rehman was travelling to Charsadda town to address a public gathering.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
