Suicide bomber kills 39 in Pakistan

At least 39 people were killed and up to 40 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a traditional tribal meeting in northwestern Pakistan today, officials said.

Pakistan is in the middle of a wave of violence blamed on al-Qaeda-linked militants based in tribal lands on the Afghan border and there have been three suicide attacks in as many days.

Over 500 people have been killed in militant related violence this year alone.

A top government official in Darra Adam Kheil tribal region told Reuters the bomber detonated a device while tribal elders were holding an outdoor "jirga", or traditional meeting.

"They were finalising the formation of a committee of locals to take steps against miscreants and help the government," said Kamran Zaib, a government official.

"So far 39 people are confirmed killed and up to 40 wounded."

Local television showed pictures of residents and authorities cleaning up the blast site, a shady clearing surrounded by tall trees with a backdrop of rugged mountains.

Piles of torn clothing and bloody Muslim prayer caps were mixed up with the shattered remains of "charpoys", wood and rope daybeds.

Mr Zaib said a head and identity card found at the scene were believed to belong to the bomber.

A suicide attack on a police funeral in northwest Pakistan killed at least 38 people on Friday, while on Monday the army's top medical officer was killed in a bomb attack in Rawalpindi.