Toll Hits 70 in Pakistan Bombings

(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»

New coalition will defy US, open negotiations

(NEWSER) - Pakistan's new coalition government says it will negotiate with the militants thought to be behind a wave of recent suicide bombings, the New York Times reports. The change in strategy will alarm US officials, who have recently stepped up strikes on suspected al-Qaeda strongholds using pilotless Predator drones. Pakistanis blame American strikes for the surge in bombings—17 since the beginning of 2008. More»

Attack marks third violent incident in as many days

(NEWSER) - A suicide bomber killed at least 39 people today gathered at an outdoor meeting of tribal elders in northwest Pakistan, Reuters reports, in the volatile country's latest bout of violence. The attack, which left scores of others wounded, occurred as the elders finalized security plans to “take steps against miscreants and help the government,” said an official. More»

Service for police superintendent targeted

(NEWSER) - At least 35 people were killed and at least 60 injured today when a suicide bomber struck a funeral in northwest Pakistan' near the border with Afghanistan, the AP reports. The funeral in the Swat Valley drew 800 mourners for a police official killed today by a roadside bomb in the region, rife with conflict between authorities and pro-Taliban forces. More»

Protesters continue to clash with police over detained judges

(NEWSER) - A suicide bomber killed 10 army recruits today near a Pakistani military school in the first major attack since Pervez Musharraf lifted emergency rule Saturday, saying that the government had “broken the back” of insurgents in the northwest. The school in Kohat was attacked regularly until Musharraf declared martial law on Nov. 3, citing widespread violence and an unruly judiciary. More»