Several die in suicide attack

At least six people, including civilians, died in the blast on Friday, according to officials in Peshawar. Two of the victims were women. Officials from Lady Reading Hospital said that at least 10 people were injured in the attack.

The suicide bomber reportedly targeted Frontier Constabulary chief Abdul Majeed Marwat, according to police officials.

"Our commandant survived the attack unhurt, but some members of his security detail suffered injuries," an official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the news agency DPA

Eyewitness accounts differed on the details on how the bombing occurred. Witnesses at the scene told the news agency AFP that the perpetrator was on foot when he detonated explosives as Marwat's convoy passed the center of Peshawar, the capital city of Pakistan's northwest province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A senior police official officer told DPA that the suicide bomber rode toward the convoy on a bike.

"The attacker was riding a bicycle and explosives strapped to his body weighed at least 10 kilograms (22 pounds)," senior police officer Noman Faisal said.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Officials fear that a recent increase in violence could interfere with an upcoming vote. General elections are scheduled for early May, in what could become the first democratic transition of power in Pakistan. The country's coalition government recently became the first in the country's history to complete a full five-year term.

kms/pfd (dpa, AFP, AP)