(15 Jul 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of scene showing damaged cars
2. Various of fire brigade personnel extinguishing fire
3. Wide of scene showing burned motor bikes on road
4. Mid of damaged van
5. Mid of people carrying injured man
6. People carrying injured man from site
7. Wide of ambulances at scene
8. SOUNDBITE: (Pashto) Bilal Khan, eye witness:
"I was buying parts for my car, an army convoy passed near to me, suddenly I heard the big noise of a blast, I couldn't see for a while, one of my toes and fingers received minor injuries in the blast."
9. Wide exterior of central Saidu Shareef hospital
10. Mid of injured man lying on stretcher being taken inside hospital
11. Mid of bloodied injured man lying on stretcher inside hospital
STORYLINE
An apparent suicide bombing near a bus terminal in Pakistan's Swat Valley killed five people and wounded at least 58 on Thursday, officials said, a sign that Islamist militants remain active in the northwest region despite a massive army operation.
The explosion went off around noon in Mingora, the main town in the one-time tourist haven that was overrun by the Taliban in 2007.
The area struck was crowded, so the death toll could rise significantly. Senior police official Qazi Ghulam Farooq said five people died and that officials believed a suicide bomber was involved. At least 58 people were wounded, police said.
The Pakistan military launched its biggest operation against the Taliban in Swat in 2009 after a failed attempt at a peace deal that included pledges to impose Islamic law in the area.
The operation forced some two (m) million people to flee, but after a few months, the army said it had taken control and many of the refugees returned home.
Still, violence has occasionally flared in Swat, shaking people's confidence. A handful of targeted killings of anti-Taliban elders in particular has worried those who fear the insurgents are staging a comeback in the valley.
In recent weeks, several major suicide attacks have shaken Pakistan. Last week, a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Mohmand tribal region, killing at least 102 people in the deadliest attack in the US-allied nation this year.
The attacks come as Washington is pushing Pakistan to do even more to root out militant groups that use its soil to plan attacks on Western troops across the border in Afghanistan.
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