9 killed in Pakistan mosque, roadside blasts

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR. October 23. KAZINFORM At least nine people, including three worshippers at a mosque and a group of soldiers, were killed in yet separate bomb attacks in northwest Pakistan, police said on Friday; Kazinform refers to The Arab News.

In the first attack, a roadside bomb tore through a vehicle carrying paramilitary soldiers in the Orakzai tribal region, where the army recently declared victory over the Taleban.

The blast killed six soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, and wounded three others, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record to media.

Hours later, a bomb hit a mosque on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern province. Besides the three killed, 22 people were injured, said senior police official Liaquat Ali.

The attacks showed the fragility of the military's gains in its offensives against Al-Qaeda and Taleban insurgents along the border with Afghanistan. The United States is hoping to bolster Pakistan's fight against extremists with a surge in military funding expected to be announced Friday; Kazinform cites The Arab News.

See www.arabnews.com for full version