Teen bomber kills 20 in Pakistan

An injured man stands with two other men in Mardan after the blast (image from Pakistani TV channel Express 24/7) The attack targeted the Punjab Regiment Centre

A suicide bomber has attacked an army facility in Pakistan’s troubled north-west, killing at least 14 people and injuring others, officials say.

Police described the bomber, who struck in the city of Mardan, as a male teenager dressed in school uniform.

He attacked as soldiers conducted morning training, residents said.

There had been a relative lull in attacks on the army in the region, where Taliban militants are active, correspondents say.

“It was a suicide attack,” Mardan police official Abdullah Khan told AFP news agency.

“The teenager bomber was on foot and was wearing a school uniform.”

It was not immediately clear how the bomber got into the the Punjab Regiment Centre undetected.

Such army centres are usually heavily guarded.

BBC map

However, a bomb attack on the same centre in 2006 killed at least 20 soldiers.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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