Leader of extremist group killed; blast claims 7 lives in Pak

Pakistan today witnessed a fresh wave of violence as a powerful blast triggered by the Taliban in the restive northwest left seven people dead while the leader of a banned Sunni extremist group was assassinated in Sindh sparking riots in the province and neighbouring Punjab.

The bomb planted in a pick-up truck went off when the vehicle stopped at a petrol pump at Shabqadar, 70 kms from Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), killing seven people, including three children and two women, and injuring 15 others, police said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it was carried out because the people of Ambar had formed a "lashkar" or militia to fight the militants.

The attack occurred hours after two security personnel were killed and three injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a bid to escape from being arrested in the troubled Swat valley's Mingora city, TV channels reported.

In another incident, Allama Ali Sher Hyderi, chief of the outlawed Sunni extremist group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, and his guard died when his car was ambushed by unidentified gunmen near Khairpur in Sindh province. Six persons were also injured in the attack.

Hyderi's guards returned fire and killed one of the attackers. Police said they suspected a personal grudge was the motive for the killing.

The situation in Hyderi's hometown of Khairpur turned tense after the killings.

His supporters organised violent protests in cities across Sindh and Punjab. They burnt tyres and fired in the air.

Police arrested over 40 people in different parts of Sindh for trying to forcibly close shops and commercial establishment during the protests.

A partial strike crippled life in several districts of the southern province while incidents of violence and arson were reported from areas like Khairpur.

Hyderi's Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan has been blamed for a string of attacks on the minority Shia community. The group was also linked to recent attacks on the minority Christian community at Gojra in Punjab that killed eight persons.

Authorities have tightened security across Sindh and paramilitary Pakistan Rangers have been deployed in sensitive areas to assist police in maintaining law and order.

Meanwhile, in what appears to be a clash between rival militant groups, 17 supporters of commander Maulvi Nazir's faction were gunned down by fighters owing allegiance to Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in the country's tribal belt.

The men were killed yesterday in Ladha area of South Waziristan tribal region which is controlled by the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Clashes between rival militant factions in the tribal areas have escalated following the reported killing of Mehsud in a US drone attack on August 5.

However, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Azam Tariq said his group had nothing to do with the incident. Some local residents said the attack could have been the work of Uzbek militants.

Separately, bodies of 12 suspected militants were found yesterday in a private hospital run by the Taliban in Makeen area of South Waziristan after an air strike on a rebel hideout. The hospital was subsequently destroyed.

Pakistani security forces also killed 13 militants and captured eight others during search and clearance operations in Swat and other parts of the restive Malakand division, the military said today.