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Blast at Pakistan army recruitment centre causes casualties


    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A bomb exploded at a Pakistani army recruitment centre in the troubled northwest region on Thursday and caused several casualties, a police official said, ending a lull on attacks on the army.

    "There was a blast at a recruitment centre. We are checking reports. There are several casualties," the police official, Liaquat Ali, told Reuters, adding that the attack may have been carried out by a suicide bomber.

    Witnesses said the explosion took place near a school.

    Taliban militants, who are linked to al Qaeda, have managed to keep up pressure on Pakistan's U.S.-backed government with suicide bombings despite a series of military offensives against their strongholds.

    The attack took place in a military area in the town of Mardan in northwest Pakistan, the epicentre of the conflict between the government and Taliban insurgents.

    (Reporting by Zeeshan Haider; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)