Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has condemned a suicide attack in northwest Pakistan that killed 88 people.
Clinton also had words of support for the Pakistani government's efforts to crack down on militants.
Her statement says the U.S. "will continue to stand with the people of Pakistan in their efforts to chart their own future." Clinton says people have a right to be "free from fear and intimidation" and promised American support in the fight against "violent extremism" and to "bolster democracy."
The suicide car bombing at a volleyball field yesterday was one of the deadliest in recent Pakistani history. It's seen as warning to residents setting up their own militias in an effort to curb spreading Taliban militancy in the northwestern region near the Afghan border.
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APPHOTO LAK102 (01/02/10)>>
: Local residents search the bodies in the rubble of houses collapsed by Friday's suicide car bombing at Shah Hassan Khail near Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010. The suicide car bombing that killed scores of people on a volleyball field sent a bloody New Year's warning to residents trying to curb spreading Taliban militancy in Pakistan's northwestern region near the Afghan border.
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Hillary Rodham Clinton headshot, as US Secretary of State, during visit with Egyptian President, Cairo, Egypt, graphic element on gray