Pakistan attack targets police

At least one child among the dead in suspected suicide attack in Pakistan's northwestern city of Bannu. Last Modified: 30 Nov 2010 06:28 GMT

The latest in the string of suicide attacks occured in the region close to Pakistan's tribal belt [Al Jazeera]

At least four people, including one child, have been killed in a suspected suicide bomb attack in Bannu, a city in the northwest of Pakistan.

According to officials, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a police van close to a police station, in the Milad park area, on Tuesday.

Iftikhar Khan, Bannu police chief said that "the bomber came on foot and detonated himself".

"The death toll is four. They include a nine-year-old child, one police official and two pedestrians. Eleven people were injured," he said.

Bannu, where the attack occurred, lies close to Pakistan's tribal belt which borders Afghanistan, an area where al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters are believed to be based.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Taliban fighters frequently target government security forces in the northwest.

About 4,000 people have been killed in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan since government forces raided the Red Mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

The attacks have been blamed on Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked networks.