Suicide blast hits Pakistan funeral

At least 37 killed and another 40 wounded as bomber blows himself up at funeral in country's northwest. Last Modified: 09 Mar 2011 07:40 GMT

Those injured in the attack were rushed to a hospital in Peshawar A suicide bomber has attacked a funeral procession in Matani, 20km west of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 37 people and injuring at least 40 others, a government official said. Siraj Ahmed, Peshawar's top administrator, told the Reuters news agency that Wednesday's attack targeted the funeral for the relative of a pro-government, ethnic Pashtun tribal elder. The attacker mingled with the mourners before setting off his explosives, Ahmed said. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder reported that the death toll may rise as "a number of wounded are said to be in serious condition". Taliban fighters have claimed responsibility for the attack. Tribal peace committees Like in other parts of the northwest, Matani is home to several tribal armies that fight against the Taliban and get some government support. Taliban fighters have often targeted members of these tribal peace committees. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Zahir Shah, bureau chief of Pakitsan's Dawn News, said that "most of those who got killed appear to be members of the peace committe. "The injured have been rushed to a hospital in Peshawar." The attack came a day after a car-bomb went off at at a natural gas filling station in the central city of Faisalabad killing 25 people and wounding about 125 others. Our correspondent reported that the "tribal peace committee is a voluntary force that has been battling the Pakistani Taliban". "There was a lull over the past few months but we have seen an escalation in attacks which is perhaps indicative of the fact that the Pakistani Taliban have regrouped." "In the past week alone, up to a 100 people have been killed and twice that number wounded, in similar attacks by Pakistani Taliban."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies