Suicide bomber kills 75 people in volleyball game attack

A SUICIDE car bomber drove his vehicle onto a field during a volleyball tournament in north-west Pakistan yesterday, setting off a blast that killed at least 75 people, wounded 70 and smacked of retaliation for efforts by residents to expel militants, police said.

The blast underscores the difficulty Pakistan has had in stopping militants whose reach extends far beyond the country’s lawless tribal belt and who appear increasingly willing to strike civilians as well as security forces.

The attack in Lakki Marwat city was not far from South Waziristan, where the army is waging an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban. That operation has provoked apparent reprisal attacks that have killed more than 500 people since October.

In some parts of the north-west, residents have taken matters into their own hands, starting militias to beat back insurgents. Police said yesterday’s bombing was possible revenge for such efforts in Lakki Marwat.

No group claimed responsibility, but that is not uncommon when large numbers of civilians are killed.

“The locality has been a hub of militants. Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area. This attack seems to be reaction to their expulsion,” local police chief Ayub Khan told reporters.

He said the bomber drove a vehicle loaded with 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of high-intensity explosives onto the field, in a congested neighbourhood.

Some nearby houses collapsed, and “we fear that some 10 or so people might have been trapped in the rubble”, Khan said.

In addition, local tribal elders were holding a meeting at a mosque nearby. The mosque was damaged and some people there died, he said.

Private TV footage taken from a hospital afterwards showed bloodied men on stretchers, looking dazed as relatives hovered nearby.

Hussain reiterated the government’s resolve to target militants, saying “we need to be more offensive to fight them”.

Also yesterday, a suspected US missile struck a car carrying alleged militants in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing three men, two intelligence officials said. It was the second such strike in less than a day.

The strikes are part of the US campaign to eliminate militant targets that use Pakistan as a safe haven to plan attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan and on the West.

The strike happened near Mir Ali, the intelligence officials said. Taliban fighters then arrived at the scene and moved the bodies.

US officials rarely discuss the strikes, and Pakistan publicly condemns them, though it is widely believed to aid them secretly.Karachi came to a virtual standstill yesterday after religious and political leaders called for a general strike to protest a bombing that killed 44 people and subsequent riots.

The city’s major markets, stores and business centers were closed, along with financial institutions that had already planned to shut for New Year’s Day. Public transportation was halted and gas stations were closed.