Suicide bomber kills two in northwest Pakistan

Pakistan saw a wave of suicide bomb attacks after an armyassault on a radical mosque in the capital last July, but therehas been a lull since the formation of new government in Marchthat has called for talks to end the violence.

Tuesday's attack, in which a bomber travelling in anauto-rickshaw taxi blew himself up as it stopped near thepolice post in the town in North West Frontier Province (NWFP),was the second since then.

"Two civilians were killed. One was sitting in the rickshawwhile other was a passer-by," said a military official.

The new government, led by the party of assassinated formerPrime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has begun talks with elders ofethnic Pashtun tribes along the Afghan border with whommilitants have taken refuge.

The militants announced a ceasefire last month but latersaid they were rejecting negotiations mediated by the eldersafter the government refused to withdraw troops from theirstronghold areas.

Also on Tuesday, suspected militants shot dead twopolicemen outside a bank in the Swat Valley, also in NWFP, inthe second killing in two days in the region where the army hasbeen battling militants since last year.

The valley was a main tourist destination until last yearwhen militants rallied to a radical cleric trying to imposeTaliban-style rule, and began attacking police.

The army launched an offensive in the valley in Novemberand hundreds of people have been killed since then.

(Additional reporting by Junaid Khan)

(Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel)