Reuters, Pakistan :
A bomb killed a Pakistani religious leader and two of his guards as they traveled to a celebration at a northwestern shrine on Monday, police said, as officers prepared for a militant backlash over a continuing military operation.
Pakistan launched a military offensive in June to seize control of the Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan, a remote mountainous region on the border with Afghanistan.
The United States had long urged Pakistan to move against militant hideouts there, saying the area was used to prepare attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Recent weeks have been quiet as Muslims observed the holy month of Ramadan by fasting during the day. But police have said they expect attacks to increase after Ramadan ended last week.
Monday’s bomb attack took place as a crowd of thousands gathered at a Sufi shrine near the city of Dera Ismail Khan where the religious leader, Faqir Jamshed, was due to preside at a function.
The attack killed Jamshed and his guards, said Zahoor Khan, police chief in the restive area.
