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Blast topples radio transmission tower in Pak
The explosion occurred after midnight in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Suspected Islamic militants triggered a bomb blast at a state radio station in a tribal town in northwestern Pakistan on Monday morning, toppling a transmission tower and halting broadcasts, officials said.
The explosion occurred after midnight in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, a local government official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
No one was at the station at the time because it had finished airing programmes for the day.
Broadcasts could not be resumed today because of the destruction of the transmission tower, he said.
An official at the radio station, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the radio station was attacked and said it had suffered no damage other than to its tower.
The station broadcasts local folk music and religious programmes.
Military officials have said that Arab, Central Asian and Afghan militants, backed by local supporters, operate in the area.
The fighters, suspected of links with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban militia of Afghanistan, have been blamed for attacks in the past on music shops in the neighbouring South and North Waziristan tribal regions, after issuing warnings that these businesses should close.
