Eight dead, 22 hurt in Pakistan suicide blast (Second Lead)

ISLAMABAD - Eight people, including three policemen, were killed and 22 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack outside the house of a provincial minister in northwest Pakistan, a media report said Monday.

The attack took place outside the house of Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, in the Pabbi area of Khan Sher Gharhi, about 20 km from the provincial capital of Peshawar, Geo TV reported.

The minister was unhurt, but two of his relatives were among the wounded.

The attacker tried to force himself into the house, but on being intercepted by a policeman, detonated the explosives.

Many people had gathered at the minister’s house to mourn the death of his son Mian Rashid, who was killed Saturday.

Heavy contingents of police were deployed in the area after the attack. The injured were taken to hospitals in Pabbi and Peshawar.

Meanwhile, a search was launched after reports that two more suicide bombers were in the area. The minister has appealed to the local residents to remain in their homes.