First Pakistan female suicide bomber kills 40 in blast
Pakistan's first female suicide bomber has killed at least 40 people in an attack on a large crowd receiving aid in north-west Pakistan, officials say.
The blast took place in the town of Khar in the Bajaur close to the Afghan border - a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold.
People displaced by fighting had been getting food at a distribution centre when the blast happened.
Reports say at least another 50 people have been injured and there are fears the death toll could rise.
Today's Christmas Day bombing was the latest in a string of recent attacks in Pakistan's north-west.
No group has claimed responsibility of the attack on the centre, used by the World Food Programme and other aid agencies.
"I myself have counted 40 bodies but the death toll could rise as several wounded people are in critical condition," Dosti Rehman, an official at the main government hospital in the region, told Reuters news agency.
Dozens of injured people are being taken to hospital by helicopter.
The bomber was a dressed in a full-length burka and reportedly threw a grenade after resisting a search. A number of police officials said the attacker was actually a woman, rather than someone wearing the burka as a disguise.
Those in the crowd were displaced members of the Salarzai tribe, which has supported the army's operations against the Taliban, Reuters reported.
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