Suicide blasts kill 19 in tribal area

Two suicide attacks targeting pro-government tribesmen and security forces killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens in areas of Pakistan’s northwest where the military has cracked down on insurgents, officials said.

In the Bajaur tribal region, a suicide attacker killed 17 tribesmen who had formed a militia to combat insurgents.

Forty people were hurt, government and hospital officials said.

In the northwest’s Swat valley, a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint, killing at least two paramilitary troops and injuring at least 20 people, officials said.