A suicide bomber on foot targeted a group of Shiite Muslims on two buses in north-western Pakistan last night, killing at least five people and wounding 25 in the latest violence to rock the Afghan border region.
The victims, some of them women, were at a petrol station in the town of Hangu. The wounded were taken to nearby hospitals.
Pakistan's north-west has been bedevilled for years by extremist violence fuelled by anger over the war in Afghanistan and Islamabad's alliance with Washington.
An army offensive that began in October against the Pakistani Taliban spurred a wave of attacks across the country that killed more than 600.
At least twelve civilians have died and over 25 wounded in a suicide bombing in the  of north-west Pakistan, Thursday night. A convoy of 140 vehicles running from , in Hangu District to the town of  in , FATA was targeted.

The victims, some of them women, were at a petrol station in Hangu. The wounded were taken to adjoining hospitals.

According to police, the attacker detonated a bomb near a fully loaded bus. The convoy carried several people, vehicles filled with provisions and commodities for trading. A majority of the people in the group were Shia Muslims. 

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Several insurgents have attacked the country's North West Frontier Province in the last year. Earlier, three died in another suicide attack on a police station in Karak, located in the same area.

Many Shi'as dwell in the Parachinar and Orakzai area which has been home to violence in the past. The Tall-Parachinar road was closed to the public in 2008 and 2009 due to Taliban activity. The latter targeted Shia Muslims, sources say. The road was re-opened about two months ago, with convoys guarded by security forces forming the bulk of the traffic.

Hangu borders Pakistan's tribal regions, where several militant groups are believed to be operating. However, security forces say that arrangements have improved from the past.