Tirah Blast Claims 30 Lives Including Seven Militants

LANDI KOTAL, Pakistan News: A militant commander and 29 people were killed and 80 others were injured when a bomb exploded in a cattle market in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on Thursday.

The commander was identified as Azam Khan of Lashkar-i-Islam. His six bodyguards also died.

According to sources, explosives packed in a rucksack went off near the Dars Jumaat mosque, which was used as base by Lashkar-i-Islam in the Akkakhel area adjacent to Orakzai Agency. The entire area is also considered to be a stronghold of Taliban.

The sources said Azan Khan might have been the target of the assailants seeking revenge for a suicide attack on a mosque in Maidan area of Tirah, which is a stronghold of Ansaarul Islam.

The Lashkar and Ansaar had been at loggerheads since 2006 and more then 200 activists of both the organisations are believed to have been killed in clashes between them.

AP adds:

The explosion tore through the mosque, killing at least 29 people and wounding some 50 others, local official Jawed Khan said.

Earlier reports had said the blast occurred in the Orakzai area.

Officials were still investigating whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or a planted device.

No group claimed responsibility, but Mr Khan said the dead included militants from Lashkar-i-Islam.

The blast underscored the relentless security threat in the tribal belt even as Pakistani-US cooperation against extremism appears on the upswing.