Suicide bomber kills 3 near northwest Pakistan press club

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside a press club in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding 17 in an attack that comes at a time of growing violence and political turmoil in Pakistan.

Militants have perpetrated a string of attacks in the country's northwest in revenge for an army offensive in the lawless tribal area of South Waziristan, the Pakistani Taliban's main stronghold. But many militants are believed to have fled to North Waziristan since the campaign began in mid-October.

On Tuesday, leaflets appeared in the area in which the Pakistani Taliban leader urged his fighters not to stir trouble there, apparently in the hopes of securing sanctuary in a region where many other insurgent groups operate.

In Peshawar, a policeman tried to search the suicide bomber as he approached the press club's gate, but the man resisted and was able to trigger his explosives, said the city's police chief, Liaquat Ali Khan. The dead included the officer and an accountant who worked for the organization, authorities said.

A woman who was at the site died after having a heart attack caused by the shock of the bombing, said Sahib Gul, a doctor at a hospital in Peshawar where casualties were taken. Seventeen other people were wounded, many of whom had been traveling in a bus that passed the press club when the explosion occurred, Gul said.

"Journalists have played a vital role in our war by exposing the terrorists, so they are on the target list too like mosques, bazaars and security institutions," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for the North West Frontier Province, of which Peshawar is the capital.

Many of the Pakistani Taliban are now believed to be operating from North Waziristan, a region dominated by militants who have a truce with the government.

In a leaflet posted and distributed in markets in the North Waziristan town of Mir Ali, Pakistani Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud ordered his fighters to "avoid criminal activities, kidnapping, creating trouble and interfering in internal affairs in North Waziristan."

"Anybody found violating this order will be considered guilty in the eyes of the Pakistani Taliban Movement and will be liable for punishment," said the leaflet.

The document was signed by Mehsud and carried a letterhead bearing his name. It was impossible to fully authenticate the leaflet, and Taliban spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment. But militants frequently communicate using such means in the tribal areas.