Islamabad - A suicide bomber pursuing an anti-Taliban mayor in north-western Pakistan on Sunday killed his target and 12 others, officials said. The attack took place outside a cattle market in the Adezai area, located 25 kilometres south-west of Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province.
"Thirteen people, including the mayor, were killed and 40 more wounded," said Doctor Sahib Gul of the state-run Lady Reading Hospital.
Abdul Malik, mayor of the Mattani village, was vocal against the Taliban militants in recent months.
He had also raised a militia, or lashkar, against the insurgents operating in the nearby Khyber tribal region.
Malik had survived several previous attempts on his life.
Gul said death toll in the blast could rise as up to 10 of the injured were in critical condition.
The cattle market was brimming with people who were there to purchase animals for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Edha scheduled for the last week of this month.
Television footage showed several destroyed vehicles at the scene. Many had holes scores of holes punched through them by ball bearings, a common ingredient in explosives vests.
Pakistan has been witnessing a wave of attacks on official and civilian targets since October. They have killed more than 300 people.
The surge in violence comes as nearly 30,000 troops are battling Taliban fighters and their al-Qaeda comrades in the South Waziristan tribal district, which is on the Afghan border and adjacent to North-West Frontier Province.
The army said more than 450 militants and 42 soldiers have been killed in the offensive. The casualty toll could not be verified independently because the conflict zone is closed to journalists.
