A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a government office in a northwestern Pakistani city on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 45 in an attack claimed by a breakaway Taliban group.
The bombing took place in the city of Mardan, outside the regional office of the National Database and Registration Authority, or NADRA, which issues identity cards, according to senior police officer Saeed Khan Wazir.
Wazir told The Associated Press that some of the wounded were in critical condition at a hospital in the nearby city of Peshawar.
"A gunman opened fire and killed a guard upon being asked to stop for checking.
Then he exploded his suicide jacket," he said.
Wazir said if the attacker had managed to enter the government office, he might have killed many more people.