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PESHAWAR A bomb-laden car exploded Saturday in northwest Pakistan as police tried to pull a body from it, authorities said, killing seven police and a bystander as international fears grow over security and political stability in the nuclear-armed country.
Al Qaeda, Taliban and linked militants have staged numerous attacks against security forces along Pakistans northwest border with Afghanistan, but Saturdays appeared to be the first to use a body as a lure.
It occurred in the Badaber area, where residents recently evicted militants with help from police, prompting threats of retaliation.
Separately, a roadside bomb struck a military convoy in the northwest town of Darra Adam Khel, killing three passers-by and wounding four troops, government official Asif Khan said.
On Saturday, officers were dispatched to Badaber, which lies on the outskirts of Peshawar, after an unknown caller told them a body was in a parked car, according to Police Chief Rahim Shah.
Police went there. They found the white car. They also saw a body inside, but when they were pulling it out, the car bomb went off, he said, calling the set-up a new technique.
Footage from the scene showed a police van whose front was decimated.
The attack occurred just outside the Khyber tribal region, a part of Pakistans tribal belt where military forces have staged offensives to stem militant activity.
