Suicide Bombing Kills 9 in Pakistan

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2014-01-20

Officials in northern Pakistan say a suicide bomber has struck a market near the country's military headquarters, killing at least nine people.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack Monday in Rawalpindi, not far from the capital, Islamabad. The blast, which wounded at least 14 people, went off in an area considered one of the most secure parts of the city.

On Sunday, the group said it was behind a deadly suicide bombing that targeted a military convoy in the town of Bannu. That blast killed at least 20 Pakistani soldiers, and afterward a Taliban spokesman warned that the group would "carry out more such attacks in the future."

The Taliban has conducted a bloody insurgency against the Pakistani state since 2007. The bombing Sunday was the biggest against Pakistani security forces in months.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned Sunday's bombing and canceled his trip to this week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Source: Voice of America