<p>In a warning to anti-Taliban tribesmen, two suicide bombers disguised as policemen targeted a gathering of tribesmen and pro-government elders, killing at least 50 people and injuring 120 in Pakistan’s unruly northwest on Monday.<br /><br />The first suicide bomber blew himself up outside the office of an assistant political agent in Ghalanai, the headquarters of Mohmand Agency.<br /><br />Security personnel were attempting to capture the second attacker at a gate when he detonated his suicide vest.<br /><br />Fifty people were killed and 120 others injured, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Information Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, told reporters in Peshawar.The bombers’ suicide vests were filled with bullets, which killed many people, officials said. <br /><br />The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a string of terrorist assaults targeting members of anti-militant “lashkars” backed by the government.<br /><br /> The deadly attack was the latest strike against local tribesmen who have been encouraged by the government to take up arms against the Taliban.<br /><br />Two anti-Taliban tribal elders, including the chief of an anti-militant militia, two television journalists and government employees were among the dead. Twenty of the injured were in a serious condition, officials said.<br /><br />About two dozen seriously injured people were taken to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.<br /><br />The blasts caused widespread damage to the government compound, parts of which were reduced to rubble.<br /><br />Two assistant political agents whose offices were targeted by the attackers escaped unhurt.<br /><br />Metal detectors at the entrance of the compound were not working due to a power outage. <br /><br />Security forces cordoned off the site and authorities imposed curfew in Ghalanai.<br /><br />Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack, describing it as an “inhuman and brutal act of militants who have no regard for any religion.”</p>
<p>In a warning to anti-Taliban tribesmen, two suicide bombers disguised as policemen targeted a gathering of tribesmen and pro-government elders, killing at least 50 people and injuring 120 in Pakistan’s unruly northwest on Monday.<br /><br />The first suicide bomber blew himself up outside the office of an assistant political agent in Ghalanai, the headquarters of Mohmand Agency.<br /><br />Security personnel were attempting to capture the second attacker at a gate when he detonated his suicide vest.<br /><br />Fifty people were killed and 120 others injured, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Information Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, told reporters in Peshawar.The bombers’ suicide vests were filled with bullets, which killed many people, officials said. <br /><br />The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a string of terrorist assaults targeting members of anti-militant “lashkars” backed by the government.<br /><br /> The deadly attack was the latest strike against local tribesmen who have been encouraged by the government to take up arms against the Taliban.<br /><br />Two anti-Taliban tribal elders, including the chief of an anti-militant militia, two television journalists and government employees were among the dead. Twenty of the injured were in a serious condition, officials said.<br /><br />About two dozen seriously injured people were taken to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.<br /><br />The blasts caused widespread damage to the government compound, parts of which were reduced to rubble.<br /><br />Two assistant political agents whose offices were targeted by the attackers escaped unhurt.<br /><br />Metal detectors at the entrance of the compound were not working due to a power outage. <br /><br />Security forces cordoned off the site and authorities imposed curfew in Ghalanai.<br /><br />Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack, describing it as an “inhuman and brutal act of militants who have no regard for any religion.”</p>
