Suicide bomber kills 5 in northwest Pakistan

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A suicide car bomber killed five people near northwestern Pakistan's main city Tuesday, and authorities urged residents to flee a Taliban stronghold where a much-criticized peace deal appears to be unraveling. Violence is building in Pakistan just as President Asif Ali Zardari prepares for talks in Washington this week expected to center on the Obama administration's demands for tough action against militants threatening both nuclear-armed Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. Police said Tuesday's bomber rammed a vehicle carrying troops near Peshawar, the capital of the embattled province where the military last week launched an operation to reverse a Taliban advance toward the capital. The blast killed one paramilitary soldier and four civilians, senior police official Ghafoor Khan Afridi said. Another 21 people, including 10 troops and police and two children, were injured, Afridi said. Initial reports that four troops had died were incorrect, he said.