Pakistani violence is escalating in response to U.S. imperialist intervention inside the country. The Obama administration has spread the war from Afghanistan into neighboring Pakistan where millions have been displaced.
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17:19 Mecca time, 14:19 GMT
Deaths in Pakistan Swat blast
At least 14 people have been killed and 50 others wounded in a suicide attack in Pakistan's Swat valley.
The blast on Saturday at a security checkpoint in Saidu Sharif town comes just a day after a twin suicide attack on a military convoy in the city of Lahore killed at least 49 people.
Speaking about Saturday's blast, Qazi Jamil, a senior police official, said the attacker was trying to get into a government building used by police and security forces.
The Reuters news agency reported another official as saying the bomber had been travelling in a rickshaw when he detonated his explosives.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Lahore blasts a day earlier, which also targeted security forces, occurred in RA Bazaar, a residential and commercial neighbourhood in the city where several security agencies have facilities.
"Two suicide bombers attacked within the span of 15 to 20 seconds and they were on foot," Tariq Saleem Dogar, the chief of Punjab police, said.
Serial blasts
Hours later, residents across Lahore were urged to stay at home after five blasts targeted the Allamma Iqbal Town area.
At least two people were reported killed in these explosions, which officials said were not very powerful.
"These were locally made, low-intensity bombs in which a very small quantity of explosives was used," Mazhar Ahmed, a bomb-disposal official, said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Friday's blasts, but the government blamed the Taliban.
A suicide car bombing targeted a police intelligence building in the same city on Monday, killing 13 people.
Pakistani authorities have said security crackdowns and offensives against Taliban strongholds have weakened the Pakistani Taliban.
Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, said the army offensives and recent arrests of the group's leaders had been followed by a period of calm.
But he said the latest attacks seemed to point to a fresh spike in violence.
"Today's attack in Lahore could be a clear message from the Taliban that although they were driven away from places like Swat, and their leadership is being hunted by the Americans and the Pakistani intelligence, they still have the capability to inflict maximum damage...," he said.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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