Suicide bomber attacks party meeting in northern Pakistan, at least 17 dead

USPA News - At least seventeen people were killed after a suicide bomber attacked a political party meeting in northern Pakistan, local authorities said Tuesday. A public meeting was being held by the Awami National Party (ANP) in the Yakatoot area of Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when the suicide attack took place.

According to Peshawar`s Capital City Police Officer Liaquat Ali who spoke with Geo TV, the suicide bomber was standing among the 200 to 300 ANP workers attending the meeting when he jumped in front of a party leader`s vehicle and detonated the explosives. ANP leaders Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and Haroon Bilour survived the attack, but at least 17 people were confirmed dead and around 60 others were injured. Emergency teams rushed the wounded to local hospitals, as authorities fear an increased death toll. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility of the attack. As the country prepares to hold polls in May, the attack marks the fourth politically-related attack in the last three days.