26 killed in suicide bomb attack in northwestern Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 28 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING CASUALTIES, CORRECTING DATE OF INCIDENT IN LEAD, SUNDAY, NOT
SATURDAY AS REPORTED EARLIER; POLLING TO BE RESCHEDULED, 3RD GRAF)
At least 26 people were killed and 18 injured Sunday when a suicide bomber
attacked a polling station during a by-election for a National Assembly seat in
northwestern Pakistan, government officials said.
The explosion reportedly occurred in a high school building in Buner, where
polling for the by-election was taking place.
According to a local TV report, officials decided to reschedule the by-election
after the suicide bombing.
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