Islamabad ( AsiaNews) - A suicide bomber blew himself up this morning in a car full of explosives inside the headquarters of a tribal military commander in the Pakistani territory of Orakzai Agency. The blast killed at least 15 people. It is not clear who organized the attack , according to some sources it is the Taliban group Tehrek - e-Taliban ( TTP ), who reportedly sent a message to the international media to claim the gesture.
The bombers' main target was the commander Nabi Hanfi , who, with the support of the central government, is waging a tough offensive against Islamic extremists in the north- west of the country. Wajid Khan , a local official , confirmed that the guerrilla leader is safe : "He was not in the area at the time of the explosion".
The
area is not far from Peshawar , theater of violent
attacks against the Christian community in recent weeks. Some
Islamic militants killed two Pakistani soldiers yesterday who were traveling in
the south- west of the country to bring basic necessities to the victims of last
week's earthquake that killed at least 515 people. In
another attack , which occurred on the border with Afghanistan , 6 people were
killed.
The
increase in violence in the country is linked to the rise of Islamic
fundamentalism and the resumption of fighting for the independence of
Balochistan . According
to Islamabad authorities in fact, the
Taliban and the tribal groups are fighting each other for supremacy of the
various parts of Pakistan , and sometimes team up to attack the national army .
The
bishop of the Indian diocese of Pune ,
in an interview with AsiaNews , said that in the violence "is the
failure of the Pakistani authorities to protect the country's vulnerable Christian
community . The integrity and moral authority of a nation depends
on its firm commitment in ensuring the rule of law and defending its minorities".