Pakistan politician Syed Noor Akbar’s office bombed, at least six dead

Bomb attacks in northwest Pakistan killed at least 11 people on Sunday, the most deadly being a blast near a parliamentary candidate's office that took the lives of six people in the latest bloodshed ahead of elections next month.

The bomb explosion in the Pakistani city of Kohat took place near the campaign office of Syed Noor Akbar, an independent candidate who is running for a national assembly seat in the May 11 general election. At least six people were killed and 10 people wounded.

Police official Tanveer Khan told Agence France-Presse news agency: "The election office was open at the time and supporters [of Akbar] were sitting inside. The death toll may rise, the condition of some of the injured is critical."

A second bomb struck in the Peshawar suburb campaign office of Nasir Khan Afridi, also a left-leaning candidate running for national assembly. The bomb killed at least three people and wounded at least a dozen more.

Neither candidate was present in their office during the explosions.

A third blast hit the town of Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during a political demonstration organized by the Awami National Party, a group the Associated Press said has been "repeatedly targeted by the Taliban." At least two people were killed, local officials said. 

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman called Ahsanullah Ahsan said his group was responsible for both attacks.

"We are against all politicians who are going to become part of any secular, democratic government," Ahsan told the AP via telephone.