A suicide bomber has killed ten people and injured 30 at a meeting of Pashtun tribal leaders in northwest Pakistan.
The attack happened in the Bajaur area on the Afghan border as about 200 men of the pro-government Salarzai tribe gathered in Batmalai village, 20km orth of Khar, for a jirga, or tribal council, to draw up a plan to drive militants out of their area.
It was the second attack on a tribal council meeting in less than a month and the latest attack in an intensifying campaign by militants that has raised fears for Pakistan.
A suicide car bomber attacked a meeting in the Orakzai region, south of Bajaur, on 10 October, killing more than 50 people and wounding more than 100.
The military says more than 1,500 militants have been killed in fighting in Bajaur since August. There is no independent verification of the military's casualty estimate.
Separately, authorities released a Taliban militant commander and three of his comrades in exchange for the release of 10 soldiers abducted by militants near the northwestern town of Hangu.
In another incident, militants fired five rockets at the airport in the main northwestern city of Peshawar last night but there were no casualties.
Three of the rockets fell on empty land near the airport. The other two landed inside the airport perimeter but caused no damage.
