Pakistan bombing kills at least 15

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a meeting of anti-Taliban tribal leaders in a region on the Afghan border.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a meeting of anti-Taliban tribal leaders in a Pakistani region on the Afghan border today, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, officials said. The explosion happened a day after a force of pro-government tribesmen destroyed two militant hideouts in the Orakzai district, one of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, they said. "Initial reports from the area say that a bomber struck at a meeting of a tribal lashkar (force), killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens more," a security official said on condition of anonymity.

"The tribesmen blew up two hideouts of the militants a day earlier and it is possible this attack was in revenge for their actions," the official said. The attack also came a day after Taliban militants abducted and beheaded four tribal elders in the insurgency-hit Bajaur region who had attended another pro-government meeting, officials said. Pakistan's government has tried to enlist fiercely independent ethnic Pashtun tribesmen to back its military operations against Taliban and al Qa'eda extremists based near the Afghan frontier.

Taliban militants have killed dozens of tribal elders they accuse of backing the government in recent years using roadside bombs, executions and, less frequently, suicide bombings. *AFP