Islamabad: At least eighteen people were killed and 40 others injured today in a bomb attack targeting a meeting of tribal elders who were discussing measures to flush out local Taliban militants in Pakistan's restive northwestern Bajaur region.
The jirga or council of the pro-government Salarzai tribe was discussing ways to take on Taliban militants when the attack occurred.
Three tribesmen were killed instantly while 15 others died later in hospital. 40 were injured. Tribal elder Fazl-e-Kareem, a retired military official, was among the dead, local residents and officials told TV channels.
The wounded were taken to a hospital in Khar, the main town in Bajaur Agency, while those with critical injuries were shifted to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.
The local Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Local residents said the jirga was convened to step up an armed drive by the Salarzai tribe against the Taliban. Meanwhile, 19 militants were killed in airstrikes in by Pakistani jets various parts of Bajaur Agency. Several bunkers and hide-outs, including the home of a militant commander, and a large ammunition dumb were destroyed in the air-strikes, officials said.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attacks. They said terrorism and extremism would be eradicated from Pakistan at all costs and the perpetrators of such heinous crimes would not be spared.
The Salarzai tribe is one of the major tribes in Bajaur and was among the first to form a lashkar or militia to take on the local Taliban.
