Ten killed in twin attacks in Pak

ISLAMABAD: At least ten people, including five policemen, were killed and 25 others injured in twin attacks in the northwestern Pakistani city of Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday, officials said. (Watch)
Five policemen and two civilians were among the dead in the attack that was targetted at police personnel, local official Syed Mohsin Shah told reporters.
The first blast, which was of low intensity and was believed to have been caused by a grenade, occurred outside a polytechnic college on a key thoroughfare.
A suicide bomber struck about 10 minutes later when a group of policemen reached the spot, TV channels reported.
The suicide attacker detonated his explosives near a police van, killing several policemen instantly. A majority of the injured were policemen, officials said.
A contingent of paramilitary personnel were stationed in the polytechnic college as part of strict security measures put in place in Dera Ismail Khan for the Islamic month of Muharram, during which Pakistan has often witnessed sectarian violence in the past.
The town has in the past seen sectarian violence between Pakistan's majority Sunnis and minority Shiites.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attacks.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was the latest in a wave of suicide and other attacks across Pakistan that have left more than 1,500 people dead in the past 18 months.