Anti-Taliban Tribal Leader Killed In Pakistan

A pro-government tribal elder was killed when a roadside bomb hit his vehicle in Pakistan's restive northwest.

The incident happened in the town of Bakakhel 150 kilometers south of Peshawar.

Malik Sayed Ali Wazir, who headed an anti-Taliban militia in the town, died on the way to hospital. 

Wazir's son, who was in the vehicle was wounded and is fighting for his life in hospital. 

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but similar incidents in the past have been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. 

Pakistani troops in June last year began a long-awaited drive to clear militant bases in the country's lawless tribal areas. 

The army has intensified its offensive since the Taliban's massacre of 153 people, 134 of them children, in a school in Peshawar last December.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa