Suicide blast kills 25 in Pakistan

A suspected suicide bomber killed 14 people in northwest Pakistan on Friday in an explosion on a road that brought down nearby shops, police and witnesses said.

Militants have struck with bombs numerous times since intensifying their war against the government in 2007 but the Islamists have suffered setbacks this year raising government hope that the security forces might be getting the upper hand.

The bomb went off on a main road near the city of Kohat, 150 km (100 miles) southwest of Islamabad, and brought down some shops beside the road, police and witnesses said.

"We have removed 10 bodies which are totally mutilated and are irrecognizable," resident Rapheel Hussain said by telephone.

"I'm trying to find my brother. I don't know whether he's been killed or is stuck under the debris of the fallen buildings."

Police spokesman Fazal Naeem said 14 people had been killed.

Kohat is a garrison town, close to the lawless ethnic Pashtun tribal belt on the Afghan border, which is a major sanctuary for militants battling in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The area where the attack took place is mostly inhabited by minority Shi'ite Muslims and there has been sectarian violence in the region in the past.

The Taliban militants are from the majority Sunni community and attack on Shi'ites are part of their strategy to fight the government.

Police say a suicide bombing at a market in northwest Pakistan has killed at least 22 people and wounded 60 others.

Police official Asmat Ullah says the attack occurred in the town of Kohat, a particularly rough spot in a region bordering Afghanistan that is known to harbor Taliban and other Islamist militants.

Bomb rips through Pakistan market, 25 killed