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Pakistani politician attacked

November 19, 2012

A female suicide bomber has struck in northwest Pakistan, in a bid to assassinate a prominent fundamentalist politician. No group has claimed responsibility.

https://p.dw.com/p/16lRL
Qazi Hussain Ahmad (R), chief of the Pakistani fundamentalist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), addresses a rally in Lahore on August 31, 2008 to condemn atrocities in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The JI organized a rally to express solidarity with Muslims in Jammu said to be under threat by Hindu fanatics in Indian-held Kashmir. Hindus in Indian Kashmir on August 31 suspended protests after the government agreed to temporarily provide land to a Hindu trust managing a key pilgrimage in the Muslim-majority region. AFP PHOTO/Arif ALI (Photo credit should read Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

A female suicide bomber detonated her deadly explosives in northwest Pakistan on Monday in an attempt to target a former leader of Pakistan's biggest Islamist party, according to a government official.

Qazi Husain Ahmad, who used to head Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, was unhurt, although three of his aides sustained injuries in the explosion, said the official, who added that the suicide bomber was wearing a burqa. The attack occurred in the Mohmand tribal region.

No group has come forward and claimed responsibility for the bomb. Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud allegedly criticized Ahmad and his party for lending their support to Pakistan's US-allied government.

Female suicide bombings are rare in northwest Pakistan; women are not permitted to go out in public unaccompanied.

sej/mz (AP, dpa)