'Four held' over Pakistan blasts
The blasts took place in the town of Charsadda, near Peshawar, in the country's north-west
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Saturday, 22, Dec 2007 07:40
Police in Pakistan have arrested four men they suspect of being involved in a suicide bombing that claimed the lives of at least 50 people.
The arrests took place at an Islamic seminary four miles from the explosion, according to local media.
The bomb blast, which occurred on the religious holiday of Eid, took place in Charsadda, a town 12 miles from the capital of the North West frontier province.
Former interior minister Aftab Sherpao was offering prayers at the mosque at the time and police believe the attack was an assassination attempt.
A rally addressed by Mr Sherpao, who is seen as a key figure behind operations to tackle Islamic militancy, in the same town last April, was also targeted by a suicide bomber.
Investigations around suicide bombings usually focus on finding the head of the attacker which is usually severed after the detonation of explosives. Provincial police chief Sharif Virk said the head of the attacker was yet to be found, however he added that four limbs had been recovered. DNA investigations on the body parts are ongoing, according to the police.
This is the fourth bomb attack in a week since the state of emergency was lifted in the south Asian country after president Pervez Musharraf said operations had "broken the back" of militants.
The US ally, which supported the invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan, has seen a marked increase in violence ever since government forces raided a mosque in the country's capital that had been taken over by students demanding the imposition of a strict form of Islam in the country.