Awwal 07, 1432, Feb 10, 2011, SPA - A suicide bomber linked to the Pakistani Taliban attacked soldiers during morning exercises at an army training camp in the northwest Thursday, killing 31 troops and wounding 42 others, AP reported. There were conflicting accounts about the identity of the bomber. The army and police said he was a teenager in a school uniform, but the Pakistani Taliban claimed he was a soldier at the camp in Mardan town who volunteered for the attack. Senior police official Samad Khan said 31 soldiers died and 42 were wounded, some critically. The army, which tends to release information much slower, put the death toll in an earlier statement at 20. All of those killed were cadets except for one, who was a drill instructor, said the army. An examination of the body parts at the scene indicated the bomber was a teenage boy, which is a common finding in suicide bombings in Pakistan, said Khan. The army also said he was a teenager in a school uniform. The training camp area holds several army-run schools. Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan disputed the government's account in a phone call to The Associated Press, saying the bomber was a soldier in Mardan who approached them and said «he wanted to sacrifice his life for Islam.» -- SPA
