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Pakistani politician survives 2nd assassination attempt in 2 days

From Nasir Habib, For CNN
Pakistanis shift an injured victim following a suicide bombing that killed at least 12 people near Peshawar on Thursday.
Pakistanis shift an injured victim following a suicide bombing that killed at least 12 people near Peshawar on Thursday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Rehman was headed to a rally when a man blew himself up near the lawmaker's convoy
  • The blast kills 12 and wounds 16
  • Rehman says he does not know who is targeting him
  • He was also the target of another suicide attack on Wednesday
RELATED TOPICS
  • Pakistan
  • Peshawar
  • Suicide Attacks

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- For the second day in a row, a hardline Islamist politician escaped an assassination attempt in northwest Pakistan.

Fazal Ur Rehman, the head of Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam, was headed to a rally in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when a man walked up to his convoy and blew himself up, authorities said.

The bast killed 12 people, including three policemen and two women, said Nisar Murrawat, the police chief of the Charsadda district where the attack took place.

It also wounded 16 others, but Rehman said he was unharmed.

Charsadda is 25 kilometers northeast of Peshawar, the capital of the province.

A day earlier, 10 people, including two policemen, were killed when a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up at another political rally where Rehman was scheduled to speak.

Rehman said he has not received any threats nor does he know who is targeting him .

Moulana Amjad Khan, a party spokesman, said the Thursday rally was the last in a series to protest against un-Islamic laws in the country, the influence of the United States and drone strikes.

Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam was a former coalition partner of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.

Security forces have been battling an insurgency led by the Pakistani Taliban in the province, formerly known as the North West Frontier Province.