Suicide bomber kills 10 in Pakistan's Peshawar

By Shams Mohmand

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide attacker set off a car bomb at a police checkpoint in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday, killing 10 people, officials said.

The city, near the Afghan border, has been bombed several times since the army began an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan last month. Militants have hit back by stepping up attacks on towns and cities, killing several hundred people.

"The car bomber approached a barrier near the police check post and then it exploded," city official Sahibzada Anis told Reuters. Ten people were killed and more than 20 wounded, he said. Police said two of their men were among the dead.

Pieces of the bomber's car littered the road. Several other vehicles were badly damaged, with one flipped onto its roof. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

The army offensive in South Waziristan is aimed at rooting out Pakistani Taliban militants who stepped up their war on the security forces in 2007.

The United States, weighing options as it struggles to stabilize Afghanistan, says Pakistani action against militants in border enclaves is vital for its Afghan effort.

TALIBAN CLAIM

On Friday, a suicide car bomb exploded at an office of Pakistan's main intelligence agency in Peshawar, killing 17 people.