Suicide car bombing kills 41

A Pakistani official said 41 people have been killed in a suicide car bombing targeting an army vehicle in the north-west Shangla district.

Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said today’s attack also wounded 45 people.

He said six security personnel were among the dead.

The blast in the market was the latest in a string of major attacks in Pakistan, underscoring militant strength ahead of an expected offensive in the main al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan.