ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his explosives-laden car into a military vehicle outside a brigade headquarters in Pakistan’s restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Five soldiers were killed and 11 wounded, the military said.
The attack came as Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting neighboring Afghanistan for talks with President Hamid Karzai, during which both leaders stressed the importance of Pakistan’s role in the fight against Islamic extremism.
Pakistan is in the midst of a political transition after last month’s parliamentary elections in which President Pervez Musharraf’s party suffered a resounding defeat. Musharraf is considered a key U.S. ally in confronting the Taliban and al-Qaeda, but it is not yet known to what extent the incoming coalition government dominated by his opponents will hew to American wishes.
Parliament is to meet Monday to vote on a new prime minister, but the top vote-getting party, that of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has not yet named its candidate for the post.
Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, has signaled he may seek the job for himself.
Bhutto’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who serves as ceremonial head of the party, has arrived in Pakistan and is to make the announcement of the prime ministerial candidate, the Pakistan People’s Party said.
The 19-year-old Bhutto is still a student at Oxford University and ineligible to run for office until he is 25, but his presence shows he already is being drawn into the country’s roiling political scene.
As the change of government moves ahead, suicide bombings have been a near-daily occurrence.
The attack Thursday, just outside South Waziristan’s main town of Wana, followed a pattern of recent strikes by suspected militants, which have targeted Pakistani troops and military installations.
A militant group in the tribal areas, loyal to a commander named Maulvi Nazir, claimed responsibility for the attack.
