22 killed in suicide bomb attack in northwestern Pakistan+

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 28 Kyodo - At least 22 people were killed Saturday when a suicide bomber attacked a
polling station during a by-election for a National Assembly seat in
northwestern Pakistan, officials said Sunday.
The bomb reportedly exploded in a high school building in Buner, where polling
for the by-election was taking place.
The by-election was being held due to the death of the incumbent, Abdul Mateen
Khan, who belonged to the ruling Awami National Party.
''This is an attempt to sabotage elections and destabilize Pakistan,'' Zahid
Khan, a spokesman for the Awami National Party, said in Peshawar, the capital
of North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan.
Buner, adjoining the restive Swat Valley, has been a stronghold of Pakistani
Taliban.
Nine candidates are vying for the seat but the main contest is expected to be
between Bakht Jahan Dan Khan of the Jamat-e-Islami and Istaqlal Khan of the
Awami National Party.
==Kyodo
2008-12-28 17:55:55