40 killed in Pakistan suicide bombing

Khar, Pakistan - At least 40 people were killed and 70 others injured after a suicide bomber attacked a group of people receiving aid in Northwest Pakistan.

According to local police officer Fazal-e-Rabbi, the bomber, who was believed to be a woman dressed in a traditional Burqa attacked the crowd gathered outside a United Nation's World Food Program (WFP) distribution center in Khar with two hand grenades before finally detonating an explosive vest. "It was very terrifying," Hussain Ahmed, a witness to the said attack, told NBC News. "[There] were two small explosions…people started running for cover. [Within] seconds, there was a major blast and…bodies [were] scattered everywhere." Khar officials immediately appealed through the town's loudspeakers for doctors and medical professionals to assist the treatment of the injured as many health workers are currently on leave, with today being a public holiday. Many of those seriously injured were sent to hospitals in the nearby districts of Dir and Peshawar due to the insufficient number of doctors and medical supplies. This is the latest in a series of attacks instigated by Islamic militants attacking buildings providing humanitarian aid as they view these to be symbols of Western influence and government. In October, a suicide bomber killed 5 people in an explosion at the WFP office in Islambad. Investigations are still underway on the confirmation whether the identity of the bomber was indeed a woman. If confirmed, this will be the first time that a woman carried out a suicide bomb attack in this region, Rabbi points out.