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Suicide blast kills five in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide bomber attacked a motorcade of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary in the Peshawar Cantonment area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.

Police officials said five people, including two women and three men, were killed and 20 others, some of personnel of the paramilitary force, were injured.

The two women along with other people were passing through the checkpoint when the suicide bomber hit the security officials.

Police said senior officials of the Frontier Constabulary were travelling in a motorcade when the suicide bomber blew himself up near a roadside military checkpoint.

The FC commandant Abdul Majeed Marwat was travelling in the motorcade.

The commandant said he was target of the suicide bomber but remained safe in the attack.

Security officials however said bodyguards of the commandant suffered injuries.

"The motorcade of FC commandant was passing a roadside military checkpoint when the suicide bomber blew himself up," a senior police official Mohibullah Jan said. All the victims were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, where emergency has been declared.

Hospital administrator Dr. Iqbal Khan said five bodies and 15 injured had been brought there.

He said some of the injured were in critical condition.