Suicide car bomber kills soldier in NW Pakistan

[July 05, 2010]  MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) -- A suicide car bomber shot at guards and detonated his explosives at the gate of a paramilitary base in northwestern Pakistan before dawn Monday, killing one soldier and wounding at least seven other people, said security officials.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press. Hafeez Ullah, who identified himself as a local Taliban commander, said the goal was to free Taliban militants imprisoned at the base.

The bomber first tried to force his way onto the base in Lower Dir district by shooting at troops and policemen guarding the gate, said Maj. Suleman Khan, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps. He blew himself up after realizing he couldn't penetrate the base, said Khan.

The guards killed a second suicide car bomber, preventing him from detonating his explosives, and also killed two suicide bombers who were on foot, said Khan.

The blast from the first bomber killed one soldier, said the army in a statement.

There were conflicting reports about how many people were wounded in the attack.

The army said seven soldiers were wounded. But a local police officer, Raffat Ali, said 12 were wounded, including 10 troops and two policemen. Two civilians also were wounded by retaliatory fire from guards trying to repel the bombers, said Ali.

The Pakistani Taliban has declared war on the government because the group deems it un-Islamic and is upset at its alliance with the United States.

The military has responded by launching a series of offensives against the Taliban in the northwest, including one in Lower Dir and neighboring Swat in 2009. The army declared victory in reclaiming the areas from insurgents, but sporadic violence still occurs.

[Associated Press; By SHERIN ZADA]

Associated Press writers Anwarullah Khan in Khar and Mohammad Abdullah Khan in Timergarah contributed to this report.

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