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Pakistan volleyball crowd 'hit by suicide bomber'

by stejeb | January 1, 2010 at 06:49 am

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To add further misery to people living in Waziristan, another suicide bomber has struck, this time at a sports venue. The ground offensive underway in that region by the army has increased tensions, and seems to be doing little to prevent these types of attack by insurgents.

With troubles and bombs in almost every region of Pakistan it must surely be time now for them to rethink their strategies in the region and within their own borders.

At least 25 people have been killed after a suicide bomb attack at a volleyball pitch in the troubled north-west of Pakistan, officials say.

There were conflicting accounts of how the attack happened, and police said they were still investigating.

But one official said the bomber drove onto the field as people gathered to watch a match.

At least one home near the sports field collapsed, with people said to be trapped under rubble.

The attack took place in Lakki Marwat, close to the tribal areas of North and South Waziristan.

Update

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At least 45 people have been killed after a suspected suicide bomb attack at a volleyball pitch in the troubled north-west of Pakistan, officials say.

Officials said the bomber drove a vehicle towards the field as people gathered to watch a match. Emergency workers put the toll as high as 70.

District police chief Mohammad Ayub Khan told reporters that the attack may have been in retaliation to attempts made by local people to expel militants, they had set up a local militia to force them out. Among the dead are thought to be members of the locl peace commitee, set up to campaign for an end to the violence in the area.

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snuffysmith

at 11:57 on January 1st, 2010

Suicide Bomber Kills 70 At Volleyball Game In Pakistan -- The Telegraph

As many as 70 people have been killed by a suicide car bomber at a volleyball game in north-west Pakistan.

Police said dozens more were injured in the attack in the village of Shah Hasan Khan, in the troubled Bannu district.

“The villagers were watching the match between the two village teams when the bomber drove his double-cabin pick-up vehicle into them and blew it up,” said Habibullah Khan, the local chief of police. “There was a match between two village teams and a lot of people were watching it.”

Read more ....

snuffysmith

at 11:58 on January 1st, 2010

More than 70 dead in Pakistan volleyball blast: report -- Yahoo News/Reuters
More than 70 dead in Pakistan volleyball blast -- The Independent

stejeb

at 12:22 on January 1st, 2010

Sadly the number of dead has now risen to 88, and likely to still climb....because the local people wanted their space and peace back, and militants - originally financed by the USA during the Russia occupation - don't want to give up their power.