Suicide attack kills 20 in Pakistan

PAKISTAN: A suicide attack killed 20 people at a Pakistan military parade in the country’s northwest Thursday, where the Taliban have vowed to step up attacks on security forces, officials said.

A teenage bomber dressed in a school uniform walked up to the parade inside a military compound in the town of Mardan.

Shrapnel and explosives killed soldiers on the spot and wounded at least 20 others.

“In a suicide attack by a boy in school uniform in Punjab Regimental Centre, Mardan early morning today, 20 persons embraced martyrdom while 20 were injured,” the Pakistan military said.

Abdullah Khan, a senior police officer in the town, said 19 soldiers were killed in the attack and 26 others wounded. Mardan, Thursday, AFP