Pakistan volleyball crowd 'hit by suicide bomber'


At least 32 people have been killed after a suspected suicide bomb attack at a volleyball pitch in the troubled north-west of Pakistan, officials say.
Some officials said the bomber drove a vehicle onto the field as people gathered to watch a match.
However, there were conflicting reports on how the attack happened and police said they were still investigating.
Many people were reported to be injured. At least one house collapsed, trapping people under rubble.
The attack took place in Lakki Marwat, close to the tribal areas of North and South Waziristan.
"The villagers were watching the match between the two village teams when the bomber rashly drove his double-cabin pick-up vehicle into them and blew it up," district police chief Mohammad Ayub Khan told AFP news agency.
But other reports suggested that the vehicle that exploded may have been parked near the pitch.
Mr Khan was quoted by the Associated Press as saying the attack may have been in retaliation for attempts by locals to expel militants by setting up their own militia.
North and South Waziristan form a lethal militant belt from where insurgents have launched attacks across north-west Pakistan as well as into parts of eastern Afghanistan.
Since October, the Pakistani army has been carrying out a ground offensive against militants in South Waziristan.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Islamabad, says it had been feared that while the army was congratulating itself on its campaign, militants had simply escaped to neighbouring areas.
Friday's attack shows their ability to strike back wherever they choose, he says.
The number of people killed in militant attacks is fast approaching 600 in just three months, with no apparent end to the violence in sight, he adds.

Root: BBC