Almotamar.net Google News - PESHAWAR, Pakistan - At least 15 people were killed and a federal minister was among several wounded in a powerful suicide blast at a political rally in northwest Pakistan, police said on Saturday. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao was addressing the public gathering when the bomber exploded his device near the speaker’s platform, provincial police chief Sharif Virk told reporters.
“Fifteen people were killed and several others are wounded,” Virk said.
Local police officer Jehanzib Khan said the minister and his son were among the injured, but an interior ministry spokesman said both were “all right.”
The attack took place in the town of Charsada in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan.
Police chief Virk said the head of the bomber, who appeared to be an Afghan, was found at the scene.
“We have found his severed head and he appears to be an Afghan,” he said.
Witnesses said Sherpao had just finished speaking when a man was seen rushing towards the stage before a huge explosion went off.
As ambulances carried casualties to hospitals in Charsada, 35 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of the provincial capital of Peshawar, police and local officials said scores of people could have been injured.
The border province has a large community of Afghan refugees, most living in camps in the troubled region.
Pakistan has been hit by attacks including five suicide bombings this year, killing more than 50 people.