Pakistanis killed in suicide blast

A few hours earlier clashes between soldiers and pro-Taleban militants in North Waziristan left at least 14 people dead, including four soldiers.

Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in violence since a battle with radical Islamists last month for control of the Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad.

The suicide bomb in the town of Parachinar, in North West Frontier Province, went off at a bus station after the attacker rammed an explosive-laden car into another vehicle near a bus packed with passengers.

The blast damaged several vehicles and five shops.

"Human limbs and pieces of flesh were scattered around the site," witness Mohammad Sajjad told AFP news agency.

At least 20 people were injured in the attack.

Gun battle

Hours earlier pro-Taleban militants stormed a security checkpoint in Dosali, a remote area of the North Waziristan tribal region, triggering a shootout that killed four soldiers and 10 militants, officials said.

The Pakistani army said the deaths occurred at an army checkpoint in the North Waziristan region, and that four soldiers were also wounded.

But there is no independent confirmation of the claims.

Pakistan has seen increased attacks on the security services since a bloody battle with radical Islamists last month at the Red Mosque in Islamabad.

Army spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said the militants attacked a security checkpoint near Dosali, south of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

Gen Arshad said the gun battle lasted for about two hours in the early hours of Saturday before the militants broke off their attack and retreated into nearby mountains carrying some of their dead.