Pakistan police station bombing kills 7

ISLAMABAD - A suicide bomber rammed a truck loaded with explosives into a police station in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing a child and six other civilians, police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

The attack was the second this weekend in the Kohat area, illustrating the resilient nature of militant networks in Pakistan despite army offensives targeting their sanctuaries along the Afghan border. At least 26 people were wounded, including six police, officials said.

Qari Hussain, a top Pakistani Taliban militant commander who allegedly trains suicide bombers, called an Associated Press reporter from an undisclosed location hours after the blast to claim responsibility.

He said the suicide blast was revenge for a recent army strike on a militant-run hospital in the South Waziristan tribal area.

Hussain and other Taliban commanders are believed to be hiding in North Waziristan to avoid the army onslaught in South Waziristan.

The truck carried up to 550 pounds of explosives, police official Dilawar Khan Bangash said. It struck a concrete barrier in front of the building, which was heavily damaged, as was an adjoining school.

- AP