Violence across Pakistan kills at least 70
The leader of the hardline Lashkar-e-Islam group, Mangal Bagh addresses followers on a FM radio at Teera area of Khyber on July 2, 2008. STR/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistan's northwest erupted in violence today, with gunfights, military airstrikes and a huge suicide bombing taking as many as 70 lives, The New York Times reported.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on the militant group Lashkar-e-Islam in Khyber, northwest Pakistan today, the Associated Press reported.
The BBC said a Taliban spokesman claimed the revenge attack was for Lashkar-e-Islam killings of Taliban members two months ago.
The two groups have been fighting for control of the Tirah Valley over the last year.
Also today, Pakistani officials said military fighter planes killed 15 insurgents in an attack in the Orakzai tribal agency, according to The New York Times.
Another attack in the Khyber region earlier today reportedly took some 33 lives as the army clashed with militants there, said The New York Times and report in The Hindu.
More from GlobalPost: 15 killed, dozens wounded in Pakistani bomb attack
The northwestern tribal regions of Pakistan are closed to the media, so reports are often difficult to verify. Three months ago, the Pakistani military launched an offensive in the area and 20,000 locals have been forced into a camp for internally displaced persons in Peshawar, the provincial capital of northwestern Pakistan.
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