Deadly Pakistan suicide bombing kills Afghan official

dr/msh (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa)

A suicide bomber in the northwest Pakistan has killed several people, including an Afghan official, authorities have said. It is the latest in a string of deadly attacks ahead of next month's parliamentary elections. The attacker was riding a motorcycle Monday when he detonated his explosives near a passing police van in the city of Peshawar, police chief Liaqat Ali Khan told the Associated Press news agency. At least eight people were killed in the blast and 45 others were wounded. Many of the casualties were from a nearby bus, which bore the brunt of the explosion. Among the dead were two Afghan consulate staffers, who were killed when their vehicle was hit by the bast, consular official Alia Mododi said. One of the victims was identified as Hilal Ahmad Waqad, son of Aghanistan's High Peace Council member Qazi Amin Waqad. He was working with the Afghan trade commissioner's office in Peshawar. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, but a wave of bombings in recent days have been carried out by the Pakistani Taliban. The militant group has been ramping up its violence ahead of the May 11 elections. Pakistani Taliban attacks on a political rally and two campaign offices in the north of the country Sunday left 11 people dead. Attacks on politicians and party workers by the group have killed around 60 people since the beginning of April. The Pakistani Taliban has said it would target liberal and secular parties in the country, saying the upcoming elections are being held under a "secular democratic system … in a country which came into being under the banner of Islamic doctrine." These threats and attacks have made it difficult for the parties to campaign, which could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election if some mainstream parties can't properly participate.