A suicide blast killed at least 23 people and wounded 35, Tuesday, putting the ruling coalition to test one day after Pervez Musharraf resigned as president, about the ruling coalition's approach to tackling extremist violence. Maulvi Umar, spokesman for Pakistan's Taleban movement, claimed responsibility for the explosion outside the emergency gate of Dera Ismail Khan District Hospital in the volatile northwest. “What we are seeing is no change in the Pakistan government policies after Musharraf,” Umar told AP, referring to ongoing military operations. “We want the government to change its policies. This is not a sectarian attack. We take its responsibility.” The blast came amid ongoing tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the area that have spawned several targeted killings in recent weeks, according to Mohsin Shah, a top district official. He said a Shiite man shot earlier Tuesday in the center of the city was taken to the hospital where he died from the wound. “Dozens of people from the Shiite community had gathered at the hospital where the bomb went off,” Shah said. The Taleban spokesman said it was targeting security forces. “This is not a sectarian attack,” he said. Pakistan's northwest tribal regions along the Afghan border are considered havens for Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents. In recent weeks, the military has battled insurgents in Bajur tribal region. On Tuesday, police said security forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery pounded targeted insurgents in the area, killing 11 suspected militants and five civilians over a 24-hour period. Security forces stepped up the shelling after militants attacked a paramilitary post at Mamad Gatt near the Afghan border. Officials say the Bajur operation has killed nearly 500 people and displaced more than 200,000.
