Suicide Vest Bomb at Wedding Kills 7 in Pakistan

JAKARTA - A suicide bomber detonated a vest containing explosives among guests at a wedding ceremony in northwest Pakistan. The bomb killed seven people and injured 25 others.

"The attack took place at the house of Noor Alam Mehsud, a pro-government community leader in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province," said local police chief Adnan Khan.

He said officers took the dead and injured to hospital, where some of the injured were reported in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses said guests were attending the ceremony, some of whom were dancing to the rhythm of drums, when the suicide bomber attacked.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, suspicion is likely to fall on Pakistan's Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP and which has carried out numerous attacks in the country in recent years. The group is separate from but allied to Afghanistan's Taliban.

TTP has become bolder since the Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021 when US and NATO forces left the country after 20 years of war.

Many TTP leaders and fighters have found refuge in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power there.