10 killed as teen bomber blows himself

ISLAMABAD: At least 10 people were killed and several injured on Thursday when a 14-year-old boy with bombs tied to his body detonated himself in a seminary in Pakistan's Bara town, near Peshawar, police said.

About 300 people were present at the time in Bara, in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, listening to a sermon on jéhad when the suicide blast took place.

"A religious sermon was going on when a 14-year-old boy blew himself killing 10 people and injuring many," police official Amir Khan told IANS from Bara.

The religious gathering has been a daily routine of the little known Amr Bil Marouf organisation at its madrassa in Bara for the last three years.

Giving details, Amir Khan said it was about 9 a.m. when the unidentified boy came close to the head of the organisation who was giving the sermon and blew himself by detonating a bomb tied to his body.

At least 10 people were killed. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

The tribal areas, directly controlled by the federal government, consist of seven districts and borders Afghanistan.

The incident took place a day after the US said terrorist activities were on the rise in tribal areas of Pakistan.

The report released in Washington Wednesday said militant attacks rose last year in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but declined in Iraq. It said that attacks in Pakistan rose "100 percent" last year.