A suicide bomber killed at least 13 people on Sunday in an attack close to the gates of an army training centre in Mardan, military and provincial officials said. The bomber was on foot and blew himself up outside the gates and close to a bakery shop in the military cantonment area.
Four of the 13 dead were soldiers, according to Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Information Minister for North West Frontier Province. Sixteen people were wounded, six of them seriously. "The suicide bomber blew himself outside the gates of the training centre," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said.
The security situation deteriorated markedly, especially in the north-west, with militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda carrying out suicide bombings.