Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 36 at Pakistan Funeral

A suicide bomber struck a funeral attended by anti-Taliban militiamen in northwestern Pakistan today, killing at least 36 mourners and wounding more than 100 in the deadliest militant attack in the country this year. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. Police said about 300 people were attending the funeral for the wife of a militiaman in the Matani area when the bomber struck. TV footage showed men picking up bloodied sandals and caps from a dusty, open space where mourners had gathered.

Witnesses said the bomber, who appeared to be in his late teens, showed up at the funeral just as it was about to begin. "We thought this youth was coming to attend the funeral, but he suddenly detonated a bomb," one survivor said. Others complain that there was no police security at the funeral. The militia's commander says that his group might cease fighting the Taliban, because the government has not provided it with the resources it needs. (More Pakistan stories.)