Fifteen killed in Pak violence ahead of polls

Islamabad, May 10: Violence continued unabated a day ahead of Pakistan's landmark general election, with 15 people killed in a bombing and an attack by pro-Taliban militants in the country's restive northwest on Friday.

Bomb blasts also targeted political workers and offices in Peshawar, Quetta and several other places in Balochistan province.

Three persons were killed and 12 others injured when a blast ripped through the market of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal region.

The explosive device was attached to a motorcycle and detonated by remote control, security officials said.

The bomb was detonated while a car was passing by the motorcycle. All occupants of the car were killed instantly. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital. The election offices of several parties are located in the market.

In the restive Kurram tribal region, three security personnel were killed when militants attack on a check post. Nine militants were killed in retaliatory action by the security forces, officials said.

In Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, five persons were injured when a grenade was lobbed at an election office of Pakistan Peoples Party leader Umar Gorgaij. Several vehicles were damaged in the attack on Brewery Road. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors said they were out of danger.

An election office of the Awami National Party in the northwestern city of Peshawar was targeted by a blast early Friday morning. One person was injured in the attack. Blasts targeted two schools to be used as polling stations at Panjgur in Balochistan. An explosion also occurred near the house of a BNP-A candidate in Panjgur, though no one was hurt in these attacks. No group claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.

Political parties have been under attack since the poll date was announced and around 100 people have died in bombings and attacks by militants over the past four weeks.

Pakistan will go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new government, the first time in the country's history that one civilian administration has handed power to another through the ballot box.