At least 47 people were killed and scores more were injured when a suicide bomber attacked a jirga meeting in Darra Adam Khel near Peshawar on Sunday, officials said. A top government official in the tribal region told Reuters that the bomber detonated a device while tribal elders were holding an outdoor 'jirga'--traditional meeting.
"They were finalising the formation of a committee of locals to take steps against miscreants and help the government," said Kamran Zaib, a government official. A security official put the number of dead at 39.
Local televisions showed pictures of residents and authorities cleaning up the blast site, a shady clearing surrounded by tall trees with a backdrop of rugged mountains.
Piles of torn clothing and bloody prayer caps were mixed up with the shattered remains of 'charpoys'--woode roped daybeds. "I saw three persons...all of them (suicide bombers) were not locals. The youngest one walked straight towards the elders and blew himself up in the middle of them," said Naimat Khan, a witness.
Kamran said a head and identity card, found at the scene, were believed to belong to the bomber. He said that the attacker was aged around 18-20.
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