Troops hunt for bomber's helpers

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Pakistani authorities are searching for people who helped a suicide bomber kill 42 soldiers on Wednesday.

The attack took place in the town of Dargai at an army training school in North West Frontier Province.

It is not far from Bajaur where last week the army said it killed some 80 militants during air strikes on a religious school (madrassa).

It is the deadliest attack on the army since it began operations against pro-Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.

An investigator in the Pakistani city of Peshawar told Associated Press news agency that a probe into the attack along the Afghan border was progressing well.

Hunting for accomplice

Security across the country had been stepped up and intelligence officials said a sketch of the suicide bomber was being prepared.

At least 20 soldiers were injured in the attack

Sniffer dogs were hunting for an accomplice of the bomber, who was reported to have fled into fields after the blast.

Emotions in the region have been running high since an air strike on a religious school (madrassa) last week in the neighbouring area of Bajaur, in which the army said 80 militants were killed.

Local people insisted the dead were innocent religious students.

In recent days, local tribesmen had openly threatened suicide attacks against the army and many in Pakistan say Wednesday's attack was in retaliation against the Bajaur incident.

'Unprovoked attack'

A man claiming to represent "Pakistani Taleban" called up The News newspaper and claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to the newspaper's website, in a phone call to The News from an undisclosed location, the Pashto-speaking man said, "The military is claiming that it attacked the madrassa to kill militants. We insist that it was an unprovoked attack and those killed were young students and children."

The caller said the Americans too were "definitely involved" in the attack but "we would also fight those playing in the hands of the US", he said.

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says Wednesday's attack could undermine recent agreements between the military and pro-Taleban militants in other border areas.

'Expected'

The army base targeted in Wednesday's suicide bombing is about 40km (30 miles) south-east of the bombed madrassa.

"The attack was carried out by a man who got down from a car wearing a chaddor [cloak] and walked into the parade," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said.

"After the Bajaur incident this was expected, but we will continue the fight against terror. We condemn it, innocent lives were lost."

Survivors examine the dead after Wednesday's attack

The US government condemned the army camp attack and praised the efforts of the Pakistani government in tackling militants.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai issued a statement saying, "Terrorists want to disrupt the peace and stability in Pakistan, therefore Afghanistan and Pakistan must unite against terrorism and extremism and destroy their root causes."

Morning exercises

An eyewitness, Aurangzeb, told the BBC he saw soldiers picking up scattered body parts minutes after the explosion.

"The victims were dying. Their shoes and caps were scattered all over the place," he said.

It appeared that most of the men who died were military recruits who had been doing morning exercises.

Dargai is a stronghold of a banned pro-Taleban movement, Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-Mohammadi (TNSM).

The head of the madrassa targeted last week was a TNSM member. He was killed in the attack.

The TNSM led thousands of tribesmen across the border into Afghanistan to take on American forces after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Many never returned.

Pakistan has deployed nearly 80,000 troops along the border to hunt militants who sought refuge after the ousting of the Taleban in Afghanistan in 2001.