CAPITALS — A suicide bombing at an election rally killed at least 12 people, including a prominent local politician, and injured more than 32 others in north-western Pakistan late Tuesday, police said.
The attack targeted a campaign event organized in the city of Peshawar by the Awami National Party(ANP), which has been targeted by Islamist militants in the past over its vocal opposition to extremist groups like the Taliban.
The bombing came hours after the Pakistan military spokesman said there were security threats ahead of national elections scheduled for July 25.
"According to our initial investigation, it was a suicide attack and Haroon Bilour was the target," police official Shafqat Malik told AFP, referring to one of the ANP's candidates for the elections.
Haroon Bilour belonged to an influential political family in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital. His father Bashir Bilour, also a prominent politician, was also killed by a suicide bomber in 2012.
(Petra)
