Blast rocks Pakistan amid raid on Taliban

Islamabad: At least 41 people were killed and 45 injured in a suicide attack yesterday in northwest Pakistan, the latest in a string of major terror strikes in the country, a provincial minister said.

The bombing came hours after Pakistani jets pounded Taliban sanctuaries after a dramatic hostage siege at the army headquarters, as the military geared up for a full ground assault to take on the increasingly brazen militants.

Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said a decision to carry out an operation in South Waziristan had already been made while its exact timing was yet to be determined.

Yesterday's suicide blast took place at Alpori in Shangla district, the main city of Swat valley where the army has been battling militants, information minister of North West Frontier Province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said.

The minister said the bomber blew himself up close to a security force vehicle and checkpost. The dead included six security personnel. Twelve of the injured were in critical condition, the minister said.