Suicide bomber injures three in DI Khan

PESHAWAR  - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia minority gathering in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday injuring three people, police said.

The bomber struck when people were dispersing after the "Martyrs of Islam" conference in the town, which has a history of sectarian violence. "The suicide bomber died after he detonated explosives strapped to his body and three others were injured," senior police official Ghaffar Qaiserani told AFP.

He said that the body of the bomber was not shattered because explosives were not fully detonated.

Television channels showed footage of the bomber's body lying in the middle of a road.

The suicide attacker leaped in front of a car carrying people back from the Shia conference in which their top leader Allama Sajid Naqvi, who escaped unharmed, was also present.

Monitoring Desk adds: At least six people are reported to have been killed and ten others injured in a gunbattle between Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansarul Islam in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency.

A key commander of Lashkar-i-Islam outfit Mullah Abdul Rahim is also among the injured. Both sides used heavy weapons against each other, and death toll was feared to be increased.

On the other side, tribal Jirga which went to Tirah Valley to arrange settlement between Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansarul Islam has returned to Peshawar. A jirga member Maulana Shujaul Mulk said that both sides had assured their full cooperation to ensure peace in the valley.