10-02-2007, 09:08 AM
<b>Suicide bomber in burqa kills 16 in Pakistan </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - A suicide bomber disguised in a woman's burqa blew himself up at a busy police checkpost in northwest Pakistan Monday, killing at least 16 people including four policemen, officials said.
The blast happened on the outskirts of <b>Bannu, a key garrison town near Pakistan's </b>troubled tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, where the army is battling Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
It was the latest in a string of deadly attacks in Pakistan since government troops stormed the Al-Qaeda-linked Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, and comes days before President Pervez Musharraf seeks re-election.
"A man disguised in a burqa got out of an autorickshaw when police stopped the vehicle for a search at a checkpoint. He then blew himself up," police officer Asar Islam told AFP.
<b>Examination of remains "confirmed that it was a male suicide bomber" wearing women's clothing, while initial reports of a possible female attacker had been discounted,</b> Bannu police chief Ameer Hamza Mahsud said
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The blast happened on the outskirts of <b>Bannu, a key garrison town near Pakistan's </b>troubled tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, where the army is battling Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
It was the latest in a string of deadly attacks in Pakistan since government troops stormed the Al-Qaeda-linked Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, and comes days before President Pervez Musharraf seeks re-election.
"A man disguised in a burqa got out of an autorickshaw when police stopped the vehicle for a search at a checkpoint. He then blew himself up," police officer Asar Islam told AFP.
<b>Examination of remains "confirmed that it was a male suicide bomber" wearing women's clothing, while initial reports of a possible female attacker had been discounted,</b> Bannu police chief Ameer Hamza Mahsud said
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