Two killed by suicide bomber

A SUICIDE bomber cornered by security forces detonated his explosives in Pakistan's Swat Valley yesterday, killing two people and wounding nine in violence likely to fuel fears of a Taleban comeback there.

The Pakistani military says a series of security offensives that began with one in Swat just over a year ago has hurt al -Qaeda-linked homegrown Taleban insurgents. But renewed violence in Swat over the past few weeks, including a spate of killings of tribal elders, has raised concerns that militants are regrouping.

The suicide bomber blew himself up near Sohrab Khan market in Swat's main town of Mingora, 80 miles north-west of the capital Islamabad.