Pakistan blast kills 6 ahead of polls

Six people have died in a bomb attack targeting the office building of an election candidate in northwestern Pakistan, Press TV reports.

The bombing was carried out outside the office of Noor Akbar Khan, an independent candidate from Orakzai Agency, in the town of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, on Sunday.

Nearly two dozen people were also injured in the bomb attack.

A Pakistani police official said the election office was open at the time and supporters of Noor Akbar Khan were sitting inside. “The death toll may rise, the condition of some of the injured is critical.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police officials say Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group is likely to blame since it has carried out similar attacks in the past.

Pakistan will hold its National Assembly elections on May 11. The National Assembly has a total of 342 members, of which 272 are elected by popular vote. The last National Assembly elections were held in February 2008.

On Saturday, five people were killed and nearly 30 others were injured in three bombings in the southern port city of Karachi. Police said two bombs were planted near the office of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) in Qasba Colony area. The third attack targeted the office of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Lyari district.

A car bomb attack at a political meeting of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Karachi also killed over ten people and injured at least 40 others on April 26. The TTP claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The TTP militants previously announced that they would target the election rallies of Awami National Party, Pakistan People’s Party, and Muttahida Quami Movement.