http://www.smh.com.au/world/death-toll-from-burqaclad-suicide-bomber-could-rise-20101226-197wl.htmlA suicide bomber dressed in a burqa killed at least 45 people and injured more than 60 in a crowded UN food distribution centre in the volatile tribal region of Pakistan.
The attack on Saturday in the town of Khar, the administrative centre of the Bajaur tribal area, came amid fighting between Pakistani security forces and insurgents in the region bordering Afghanistan.
Most victims belonged to the local Salarzai tribe, which supported military action against the militants and formed a militia to force them from Bajaur.
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Authorities closed food aid distribution centres in north-west Pakistan after the attack while they assessed the danger levels.
A day before the bombing, a clash in the neighbouring Mohmand tribal area left 11 troops and two dozen militants dead.
As up to 1000 people waited in the morning chill for food aid on Saturday, the attacker first hurled grenades into the crowd, then detonated explosives. Hours later police were still trying to determine whether the bomber was a woman or a man in disguise.
Witnesses described a horrific scene, with mangled bodies and bloodied clothing scattered over a wide area, and wounded people crying out for help. The most critically injured were taken to hospitals in Peshawar, the nearest large city. Officials said the death toll could rise.
More than 300,000 people have been driven from their homes by a military drive against insurgents that began in 2008.
Ansar Khan, who saw the attack, said it began moments after guards stopped the assailant at a checkpoint just outside the distribution area.
''People come to the centre before dawn and wait their turn to get food,'' he said.
The US President, Barack Obama, condemned the attack. ''Killing innocent civilians outside [the distribution centre] is an affront to the people of Pakistan, and to all humanity,'' he said.
Topic: Death toll from burqa-clad suicide bomber could rise (Read 466 times)