Bomb strikes meeting of Pashtun leaders in Pakistan

Khar: At least nine people were killed and 45 others were wounded when a bomb exploded in northwest Pakistan's Bajaur region on the Afghan border on Thursday, a government official said.

The suicide bomb struck while Pashtun leaders of the pro-government Salarzai tribe had gathered to draw up a plan to drive militants out of their area.

The attack in the Batmalai area of the Bajaur tribal region was the latest to target tribal militias that have sprung up, with government backing, to take on Al Qaida and Taliban fighters nested along the Afghan border.

The Salarzai tribesmen were preparing to stage an assault on local militant hide-outs when the blast occurred, said Iqbal Khattak, a government official. Malik Rahimullah, a tribal elder, said the bomb exploded as soon as armed contingents began to move.

He and officials initially said it appeared that a remote-controlled bomb was used, but later Khattak said mutilated body parts of an apparent suicide bomber were found, and that witnesses said they saw a young man rushing into the crowd before the explosion.

Amir Khan, a tribesman, said the scene was littered with severed limbs and that several tribal elders were among the dead.

Khattak said nine people were killed. Mohammad Kareem, a hospital official in Bajaur's main city of Khar, said two dozen of the wounded were in serious condition.