Pakistan Bombing Kills 25

Young boys describe how they were led into terror

(NEWSER) - Last weekend, the Afghan intelligence service paraded five young boys—some not yet adolescents—in front of reporters and photographers to send a clear message: "The Taliban are recruiting children in their ranks and using them to carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan," a spokesman said. One 9-year-old says his mullah promised that “when we carried out our suicide attacks, all the people around us would die, but we would stay alive.” He traveled from Pakistan into Afghanistan with three other boys, but instead of being met at the border by members of the Taliban, they were picked up by Afghan intelligence officials who were tipped off to the plan, the AP reports. More»

Taliban take credit for blast at military training grounds

(AP) - A suicide bomber linked to the Pakistani Taliban attacked soldiers during morning exercises at an army training camp in the northwest today, killing 31 troops and wounding 42 others. There were conflicting accounts about the identity of the bomber: An examination of the body parts at the scene indicated the bomber was a teenage boy, which is a common finding in suicide bombings in Pakistan, said police. The army also confirmed he was a teenager in a school uniform. But the Pakistani Taliban claimed he was a soldier at the camp in Mardan town who volunteered "to sacrifice his life for Islam." More»

Car blast targeting civilians thought to be work of Taliban

(AP) - A car bomb exploded outside a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan today, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 100. The blast, the third in as many days, appears to be the latest attack by militants avenging an army offensive along the Afghan border. More»

(AP) - A suicide bomber apparently targeting an anti-Taliban mayor struck a crowded market near Peshawar today, killing the mayor and 11 other people and wounding dozens, police said. The market was crowded with shoppers and goats being sold to celebrate the upcoming Muslim festival of Eid. The mayor, Abdul Malik, who was initially reported to have survived, died in the attack, said a top official. More»

More than 100 injured in attack on family market in Peshawar

(NEWSER) - At least 80 people were killed today when a bomb ripped through a busy market in Peshawar, hours after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the country to show American support for its campaign against Islamist militants. Clinton, on her first official visit to the country as secretary of state, was three hours away in Islamabad at the time of the attack. Many others were injured and the death toll is expected to rise, doctors tell AP . The market is reserved for families, and many of the dead are women. More»