Blast kills three outside Pakistan mosque
KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) — A bomb exploded outside a mosque in a militancy-plagued Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing at least three people, officials said.
The device blew up at the gate of the mosque in Dabar, a village in the lawless Bajaur tribal district, as worshippers gathered for evening prayers, a local administration official told AFP.
"At least three people were killed in the blast. It appears that the bomb was planted by the gates of the mosque but we are still investigating," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The area is a stronghold of Taliban militants who have been blamed for a wave of bombings in Pakistan over the last year, but who began talks with the new government after it came to power in March.
A suspected US missile strike on an alleged militant hideout in the Damadola area of Bajaur last week killed 12 people.
A Taliban spokesman said earlier Monday that a suicide bombing near an army base in northwestern Pakistan that killed 13 people at the weekend was in revenge for the missile attack.
