Suicide bomber kills 13 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber killed at least 13 people yesterday in an attack close to the gates of an army training centre in the northwestern Pakistani town of 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.

Mardan has suffered several attacks by Islamist militants during a wave of violence that swept Pakistan after the army stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad last July to crush a Taliban-style armed movement led by a radical cleric.

The security situation deteriorated markedly, especially in the northwest, with militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda carrying out suicide bombings.

More than 600 people have been killed in militant related violence since the beginning of this year alone.