PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bombing on Thursday killed five people near a security checkpoint in this restive city that has borne the brunt of Pakistan’s rising Islamist insurgency, police and government officials said.

It was the latest in a deadly string of attacks in Peshawar, a northwestern city near the Afghan border and a rugged tribal region where the military has been battling the Pakistani Taliban. Authorities said they were not sure of the target of Thursday’s blast, which killed a police officer and civilians, but many recent attacks have targeted security forces in apparent retaliation for the military operation.

Security has increased at entrance points to and inside Peshawar, but extremists have responded by switching tactics, said Aslam Khan, a police official. Instead of using car bombs, insurgents are now deploying lone suicide bombers on foot, he said — a move that has reduced casualties but not the fear that has gripped the city.

The bomber detonated his explosives in a busy area near a military checkpoint, office buildings and a Christian girls’ school, authorities said. The attack, which came two days after a blast that killed four people at the city’s press club, injured 25 and prompted panicked residents to shut shops and stay indoors.

“The bomb blasts are aimed at creating unrest in the city, and to some extent they are successful,” said Muhammad Sagheer, 42, a trader who works near the bomb site. “The markets and business areas are showing a deserted look.”

Government officials warned of more attacks in coming days, particularly on the Muslim holiday of Ashura, a Shiite day of mourning. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a provincial government spokesman, said the military needed to launch wider operations in the lawless tribal areas that have become bases for Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

“We should hit their hideouts before they attack us,” Hussain said. Militants, he said, “have spared none in these ongoing acts of terrorism.”  (News sourced from: washingtonpost)