Bomber attacks Pakistani intelligence agency; 10 dead

By Faris Ali

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber attacked an office of Pakistan's main intelligence agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 10 people and wounding 60, officials said.

The city, near the Afghan border, has been targeted several times since the army began an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan last month and militants stepped up retaliatory attacks.

A military spokesman said the bomber's target was the office of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the bomber detonated his explosives at a checkpost outside.

The attack came shortly before U.S. National Security Adviser Jim Jones began meetings with military and government leaders in Islamabad.

The United States, weighing options as it struggles to stabilise Afghanistan, says Pakistani action against militants in border enclaves is vital for its Afghan effort.

The blast brought down the front of the three-storey building and sent a thick column of smoke billowing over the city.

A wounded soldier said the bomber was in a type of vehicle that usually delivers medical supplies.

"All of a sudden it appeared on the wrong side of the road and began coming towards the office," the soldier, Nasir, told Reuters. "The guards opened fire but it came to the entrance of the building as the firing went on and exploded."