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                     Suicide Bomber Kills 12 in NW Pakistan

   by VOA News

   Officials in northwestern Pakistan say a suspected suicide blast
   Tuesday killed at least 12 people and wounded many more. A majority of
   the victims are said to be security forces.

   Witnesses say the bomber riding a motorbike struck a security
   checkpoint separating the semi-autonomous and volatile Khyber tribal
   district from the city of Peshawar.

   Rescue workers and local officials say a senior officer of the tribal
   police force and a local journalist are among the dead.

   Massive blast

   The massive blast caused damage to several vehicles and motorbikes
   parked near the security post.

   There are no immediate claims of responsibility.

   ''Khyber serves as one of the two main routes for trade and transit
   between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan.

   The Pakistani tribal area has been a hub of local and foreign militants
   involved in terrorist attacks on both sides of the border.

   But officials say recent Pakistan army-led security operations have
   cleared most of Khyber of the insurgents.

   Convoy targeted

   On Monday, a roadside bomb blast targeting a convoy of paramilitary
   forces in the southwestern city of Quetta killed at least five soldiers
   and wounded three others.

   The outlawed Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack.
   The militant organization has been waging an insurgency against the
   state of Pakistan.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/suicide-bomber-kills-twelve-in-northwest-pakistan/3152328.html