Bomb Explodes Near Pakistan Minister's House

Mian Iftikhar Hussain

A bomb has exploded close to the home of a prominent provincial minister in northwest Pakistan.

Six people, including three children, were wounded in the blast in the town of Pabbi.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, was away when the explosion occurred.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hussain is a member of the province's ruling secular Awami National Party. He is known in Pakistan for speaking out against militants.

In July 2010, Taliban militants shot dead his only son, Mian Rashid Hussain.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is near Pakistan's tribal areas close to the Afghan border which are considered a safe haven for Taliban members, Al-Qaeda, and other insurgents fighting both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.
Based on reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal