Pak Taliban claims responsibility for suicide attack on minister

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on a provincial cabinet minister on Monday. Seven people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up near Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain's residence in northwest Pakistan.

Hussain, a vocal critic of the Pakistani Taliban, escaped unhurt in the attack. The bomber, a youth clad in black, detonated his explosive vest when he was stopped by the police at a check post a short distance from his residence at 1.45 pm (local time). 

Hussain was receiving condolences from visitors at his house in Pabbi town at the time of the attack. His only son Mian Rashid Hussain was gunned down by suspected Taliban militants on Saturday.

Seven persons, including a relative of the minister, were killed

Ihsaanullah Ihsan, deputy spokesperson of the TTP, told rediff.com from an undisclosed location, "We claim responsibility for today's suicide attack. Mian Iftikhar is our enemy; a Fidayeen (suicide bomber) was sent to the area to attack the people gathered at the house of the minister and he has done his job."

He added, "Our men killed the son of Mian Iftikhar. It is revenge for the ongoing military operation in tribal areas. The provincial government supports the military assaults against Taliban so we are targeting the members of the Awami National Party (the ruling provincial party)."

The bomber struck just after Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani and senior Pakistan People's Party leader Raza Rabbani had left the minister's residence after offering their condolences.

Four of the minister's relatives were also injured in the attack but officials said they were out of danger. Peshawar city police chief Liaqat Ali Khan said three policemen, including an officer, were among the dead. Other officials said a young girl and a woman were also killed.

Khan said there were reports that two more suicide bombers could be in the area around the minister's residence. He asked people to leave the area and return home so that the police could carry out a thorough search.

"The bomber came through an entrance that was being used by guests coming to the minister's home. He exploded himself when he was stopped at a check post," Khan said. Eight to ten kilograms of explosives were used in the attack, he added.

Hussain had been getting threats from the Taliban for a long time. Hussain, the most visible face of the Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa government, is usually the first official to visit the site of terrorist attacks and had often criticised the militants for carrying out suicide attacks.