Twin bombs kill 50 people in Pakistan

At least 50 people have been killed and dozens more injured in two bomb blasts inside a government building in northwestern Pakistan. The blasts destroyed parts of a compound, leaving at least 50 people killed and many others wounded, a Press TV correspondent reported on Monday.

The bombs went off inside a government building in Mohmand tribal agency, a district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, where pro-government community leaders were holding a meeting with tribal leaders.
No group has claimed responsibility for the Monday attack.
Amjad Ali Khan, the top government official in Mohmand region, said that he had been the target of the attacks.
“There were two bombers. They were on foot. The first blew himself up inside the office of one of my deputies, while the second one set off explosives when guards caught him,” he said.
Violence across Pakistan has claimed around 4,000 lives over the past three years.

A non-UN-sanctioned US drone attack has killed at least five people and wounded several others in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern tribal belt.
A vehicle and a house were targeted in the strike which took place in Khysore village, 35 kilometers east of Miranshah — the main town of the troubled district, a Press TV correspondent reported.
North Waziristan and other tribal regions in northwestern Pakistan have been frequently targeted by US drones over the past few years. Hundreds of people have been killed by such unsanctioned attacks.
Washington claims that the air raids target militants who cross the border into Afghanistan. However, eyewitnesses say the victims are mainly civilians.
The aerial raids, initiated by former US President George W. Bush, have escalated under President Barack Obama.
A surge in unauthorized US drone attacks in Pakistan along with NATO operations along the border has sparked criticism from Pakistan, with officials calling for an immediate end to the attacks.
The issue of civilian casualties has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington with the Pakistani government repeatedly objecting to the attacks and condemning the strikes as violations of the country’s sovereignty.
Militant attacks, unsanctioned drone strikes, and political unrest have claimed the lives of over 4,000 people across Pakistan since 2007.

Source: Press TV