Woman kills 14 in Pakistan suicide bomb

A woman detonated explosives hidden under her burqa at a police checkpoint Monday, killing herself and 14 others in what appeared to be Pakistan's first female suicide attack, officials said.

The blast in the troubled town of Bannu underscored the growing Islamic militant threat in Pakistan, five days before President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally, seeks re-election.

Militants attacked a security post in the same northwestern region later Monday and 24 policemen were feared captured, officials said.

The suicide bomber was in a rickshaw when it was pulled over by police at a checkpoint in Bannu, said Ameer Hamza Mahsud, the local police chief.

Investigators determined that it was a suicide attack and that the bomber was a woman who wore the head-to-toe burqa veil common in Pakistan's northwest and in neighboring Afghanistan, Mahsud told The Associated Press.

There was no claim of responsibility. Forensic experts would examine the attacker's dismembered body for clues to her identity, Mahsud said.

However, he said it was possible that the bomber came from the nearby tribal belt along the Afghan frontier, where militants affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaida have seized considerable control.

While there have been reports of women being trained to carry out suicide bombings in Pakistan, Monday's blast appeared to be the first confirmation of such an attack in either Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said the dead included four police officers and 11 other people, among them the bomber. Mahsud said many of the casualties had been crowded around a nearby bus stop.

Some 150 militants attacked the Richi Fort security post west of Bannu on Monday evening with rockets and gunfire, according to an intelligence official.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the insurgents overran the post and captured 24 paramilitary police officers. Arshad confirmed the attack but said he had no confirmation that anyone was captured.

Bannu is near the North Waziristan tribal region, about 110 miles south of Peshawar.

In recent months, militants have staged almost daily attacks on security forces in North Waziristan and surrounding areas since the breakdown of a peace agreement.

The 2006 agreement had drawn criticism from the United States that it had given al-Qaida breathing space to regroup and perhaps plot new attacks on the West.

But the deal's demise and a wave of violence including suicide attacks in otherwise peaceful parts of Pakistan have fanned concern here that the country is sacrificing its stability at the behest of Washington.

That debate has tarnished the standing of Musharraf, but not deterred him from seeking another five-year presidential term.

Allies of Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, are confident that he will win Saturday's ballot among federal and provincial lawmakers, despite bitter opposition.

The general wants to be re-elected while he is still army chief. Opponents claim that would violate the constitution, although Musharraf has pledged to give up his powerful military post if he wins.

They also accuse him of using authoritarian tactics to stifle dissent.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered three officials suspended after 83 people, including dozens of journalists and lawyers, were hurt when police used batons and tear gas during a weekend protest against Musharraf.

Judges watched television footage of the clashes on a screen set up in a courtroom packed with lawyers and journalists, some with bandages on their arms and heads.

Government officials said they had complied with the court's order to suspend Islamabad's city and district police chiefs as well as the deputy head of the municipal administration pending an investigation.

Pakistan's turbulent 60-year history has been punctuated by political violence. However, the Foreign Ministry said the latest outburst harmed the country's image.

"This is not what Pakistan is all about. We are a far more tolerant people and it was an aberration, I hope," ministry spokesman Tasnim Aslam said.

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Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad contributed to this report.