Suicide Bomber Kills 7 in Pakistan

The Associated Press reports:

A suicide bomber blew himself up as he was being searched at a political rally in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing seven people, including a 9-month-old girl, officials said.

The rally was organized by Ameer Muqam, a senior member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, but he had not yet arrived when the blast went off.

"Such attacks are deplorable, but they cannot deter us from public service," Muqam said after the blast.

The bomber detonated his explosives as he was being searched at the entrance of the rally, said Ghulam Hussain, the police chief in Batgram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the attack occurred.