Islamabad, Oct 13: Eighteen people were killed and over 40 others injured today when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the office of a pro-government militia in the restive Darra Adam Khel region of northwest Pakistan.
 The powerful blast ripped through the office of the "aman committee" or militia in the central market of Darra Adam Khel. Members of the militia, formed to fight the Taliban, and tribal elders were among the dead and injured.
 Sixteen people were killed instantly and the others died later in hospital. Two children were among the injured.
 People with serious injuries were rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar,the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
 Officials at the hospital said they had received six bodies and more than 30 injured, including seven who were in a serious condition.
 More than 30 shops and eight cars were destroyed by the blast, police officials and witnesses said.
 No group claimed responsibility for the incident though such attacks are usually blamed on the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has targeted government-backed militias in the past.
 The Taliban had a strong presence in the Darra Adam Khel region till the army launched an operation to flush them out of the area in 2009.
 Today's attack came four days after the Taliban tried to assassinate teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai in their former stronghold of Swat.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 14 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST