PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber struck a neighborhood home to government buildings and a church in Pakistan’s main northwest city Thursday, killing five people and underscoring that militant groups retain strength despite being under siege by the army.
The attack was the second in three days in Peshawar, and the latest in a wave of violence that has killed more than 500 people in Pakistan since October. Insurgents are suspected of avenging a US-supported Pakistani army offensive against the Taliban in a northwest tribal region along the Afghan border.
The bomber walked up to a checkpoint along the road and detonated his explosives when a police officer asked him to stop, city police chief Liaquat Ali told The Associated Press. He paid glowing tributes to the slain policeman, saying if he had not acted the attacker might have struck a more crowded area, killing more people.
TV footage from the scene showed shattered glass and debris covering a wide area as security officials flooded the zone. At least 14 people were wounded in the attack.
Recent militant attacks have struck a range of targets, from markets popular with women to security checkpoints. Thursday’s blast rocked a busy sector of Peshawar where buildings housing the state-run airline, a public school and a government insurance company were located.
