30 November 2010 Last updated at 03:57 ET

Pakistan suicide blast kills six

Two boys were reportedly killed in the explosion

Six people died when a suicide bomber on foot targeted a police van in north-western Pakistan.

Nearly 20 others were wounded in the blast in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, close to the Afghan border.

Among the dead was at least one policeman and, according to a report, two children.

The area is a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaeda. The military has launched offensives in the north-west, but the insurgents continue to attack at will.

Police chief Iftikhar Khan said: "The death toll is now six. They include two boys aged seven and nine, one police official and three pedestrians."