Pakistan Taliban: Bomb that killed 11 was revenge

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck a restaurant in volatile northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 11 people, including pro-government fighters opposed to the country's top Taliban commander, intelligence officials said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded several people.

Pockets of the northwest are strongholds for Taliban and al-Qaida militants. Pakistan has staged military offensives in the area, while the U.S. is suspected in dozens of missile strikes against militant targets there, including one that killed eight Wednesday. The Pakistani government also has encouraged tribal leaders to form militias to ward off the insurgents.

The attack Thursday morning, just outside the South Waziristan tribal region near the town of Tank, hit a roadside restaurant where some two dozen fighters loyal to pro-government leader Turkistan Bitani were eating, two intelligence officials told The Associated Press. Bitani was not present, they said.



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