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Death toll from suicide attack against volleyball match rises to 105

Hundreds of people are wounded. A building collapses. Search for dead and wounded continues. Military says attack is retaliation against local residents who back army in its fight against Taliban. In one year, thousands of civilians have been killed by the Taliban.
Peshawar (AsiaNews/Agencies) – At least 105 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a volleyball tournament in a town in north-western Pakistan yesterday, police said as it updated earlier figures which had put the death toll at 88 with more than 100 injured.

The blast was so powerful that it demolished a building near the volleyball court. Police is still searching for more dead and wounded under the rubbles.

The suicide bomber detonated a vehicle as fans gathered to watch two teams face off in the town of Shah Hasan Khan, not far from the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan.

According to police, the town was targeted because its residents have been supporting the Pakistani government’s efforts to suppress Taliban militants.

For several months, Pakistan's military has been battling the Taliban who use certain regions of the country as safe havens for their fight in Afghanistan and where they enforce Sharia.

In 2009, the Taliban have been responsible for several attacks that killed thousands of civilians.