Suicide bomber kills 10 people in Pakistan

A SUICIDE attacker drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a hospital for Shiite Muslims that was under construction in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 10 people, police said.

Several people were also wounded in the blast in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Hangu district, senior government official Khalid Khan Omarzai said.

Elsewhere in the region, a missile fired from a US drone destroyed a vehicle in the Mir Ali town of north Waziristan, killing at least four suspected militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The suicide attack in Hangu comes a day after the start of the holy month of Muharram, which is especially important for Shiites, but has been marred by bombings.

Hangu has been the site of attacks in the past by extremist Sunni militant groups targeting Shiites.

The town is effectively segregated between the two Muslim sects, with each having their own markets, hospitals and schools.