50 dead in mosque bomb

A SUICIDE bomber struck a mosque frequented by anti-Taliban tribal elders in north-west Pakistan during afternoon prayers, killing at least 50 people in one of the deadliest attacks this year.

Later in the day, three grenade blasts killed at least three people at another mosque in the troubled Afghan border region.

The blasts were the latest to hit religious gatherings and underscored the relentless security challenge in the US-allied nation, where Islamist militants have managed to strike at the state and citizens who work against them, despite pressure from army offensives.