28 Aug 2009

Suicide bomber at border post

6:14 am on 28 August 2009

A suicide bomber has killed 22 Pakistani border guards in an attack at the main crossing point into Afghanistan.

It was the first big attack in Pakistan since Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud died after a US missile strike on 5 August.

The attack at the Torkham border crossing was made at sunset as the day's Ramadan fast came to an end.

The BBC reports the post is the main crossing point for border traffic to and from Afghanistan.

The Khyber Agency is responsible for guarding the Khyber Pass, the trading route connecting Islamabad and Peshawar in Pakistan with Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.