Bomb blast kills 14 in northwest Pakistan - official

PanARMENIAN.Net - A roadside bomb killed 14 people and wounded six in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, September 16, a government official said.

The blast targeted a passenger van in the Lower Dir district near the village of Bunr, said Hussain Ahmed, the official.

The bomb was remotely detonated, he said.

Details about the van's occupants were not available. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The bombing in the Lower Dir district is the latest violence to strike Pakistan's tribal region that borders Afghanistan.

The district is one of 24 that make up the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

It was formerly known as the North West Frontier Province, a name assigned during the British colonial rule. The ruling party changed the name to reflect the province's majority Pashtun population.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rife with Islamic extremists and has been the site of recent clashes between Pakistani security forces and militants.

On September 3, an explosives-filled car slammed into a U.S. Consulate vehicle in the provincial capital, Peshawar.

The attack took place in an area of the city where several international agencies have offices. In addition to the U.S. Consulate, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, is in the area CNN reported.