Suicide bomber kills at least 21 at Pakistani funeral

Suicide bomber kills at least 21 at Pakistani funeral

2011-09-15 19:28:51 GMT+7 (ICT)

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least 21 people were killed on Thursday afternoon when a suicide bomber blew himself up during a funeral ceremony in northern Pakistan, police and local media reports said.

The attack happened at around 3 p.m. local time in the Jandol Smar Bagh area of Lower Dir, which is a district in Pakistan's tribal region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. It happened during a funeral ceremony for Malik Safeer Khan, a local elder.

According to a police official in the district, the suicide attacker went to the ceremony and blew himself up, killing at least 21 people and injuring up to 50 others. Some of the victims were said to be in a serious condition, according to local TV reports.

Both Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani immediately condemned the deadly attack, for which no group immediately claimed responsibility.

Last week, at least 23 people were killed and around 50 others were injured during two suicide bombings outside the residence of the DIG Frontier Corps (FC) near the Commissioner's Office in Quetta, which serves as the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan Province.

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