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Explosions Kill At Least Seven In Northwestern Pakistan


Volunteers and journalists representatives examine the wreckage of a vehicle after a suicide bomb attack in Peshawar on February 15.
Volunteers and journalists representatives examine the wreckage of a vehicle after a suicide bomb attack in Peshawar on February 15.

Two separate explosions have killed at least seven people in northwestern Pakistan.

A suicide bomber killed five people and injured seven in an attack targeting the administrative headquarters of the Mohmand tribal district in Ghalani Tehsil, officials said.

The Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack.

The breakaway faction is based in the Mohmand area -- part of rugged, lawless regions along the Afghan border that have long served as safe havens for local and Al-Qaeda-linked foreign militants.

Hospital officials told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that three of those killed were members of the tribal police, known locally as Levies.

In a separate attack, two people were killed in the northwestern city of Peshawar when a bomb exploded near a hospital.

Local media cited police sources as saying the bomb went off near the Hayatabad Medical Complex in a wealthy neighborhood of Peshawar. No group has immediately claimed responsibility.

Pakistan's main opposition leader Imran Khan was due to visit the hospital on February 15, but it was not immediately clear whether he was there at the time of the blast.

The attacks come two days after a suicide bombing claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar killed 13 in the eastern city of Lahore on February 13.

Pakistan has waged several offensives against Islamic militants in recent years.

With reporting by AP and AFP

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