From The New York Times:ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Four months ago, the people of the Pakistani mountain village of Shalbandi gained national repute after a village posse hunted down and killed six Taliban fighters who had tied up and killed eight local policemen. The posse displayed the Taliban corpses like trophies for other residents to see, and the village was celebrated as a courageous sign that the Taliban could be repelled.
On Sunday morning, the Taliban struck back.
A suicide car bomber set off an explosion at a school in Shalbandi that was serving as a polling place, as voters lined up to elect a representative to the National Assembly. More than 30 people were killed and more than two dozen wounded, according to local political and security officials. Children and several policemen were among the dead.
The attack was the latest demonstration of the Taliban’s bloody encroachment eastward and deeper into Pakistan from the lawless tribal areas on the western border. Shalbandi is less than 100 miles northwest of Islamabad, the capital, and lies just south of the lush Swat Valley, a onetime ski resort known as the “Switzerland of Pakistan” that has been largely taken over by the Taliban despite large-scale army operations.
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More News On Pakistan
As Marriott Reopens, 34 Die in Blast In Pakistan -- Washington Post
Bomber Kills Up To 30 in Pakistan -- L.A. Times
Car Bomb Kills at Least 30 in Pakistan -- Voice Of America
Suicide Attack Near Afghan School Kills 7, Wounds 36 -- Voice of America
Blast Kills 16 Afghans Near Pakistan Border -- New York Times
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