[Al Arabiya Latest] A suicide bomber in a vehicle blew himself up at a volleyball game in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 75 people, officials said, the latest in a long series of deadly attacks by al-Qaeda-linked militants."We have confirmed a figure of 75 deaths. There are many more wounded who are being rushed to hospitals in private vehicles," a local police official, Habibullah Khan, told Reuters by telephone.
The bomber struck as young men in a village near the town of Lakki Marwat were playing volleyball in front of a crowd of spectators, including elderly residents and children, officials said.
Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban militants are known to have strongholds in the region. The death toll could climb sharply as many people were buried under the rubble of nearby houses, officials said.
An attack on a sporting event is highly unusual, although militants have recently started bombing crowded civilians areas like markets to inflict mass casualties, spreading fear and chaos.
Khalid Israr, a senior regional official who spoke by telephone from a hospital treating blast victims said several people recalled seeing the bomber drive a vehicle onto the playing field and blow himself up. Dozens of anguished people, he said, were gathered at the hospital.