Official injured in bombing

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber trying to assassinate Pakistan's interior minister detonated his explosives in a crowd surrounding the official Saturday, killing 22 people and wounding 35.
Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao was slightly injured, and state television showed him walking to his car after the blast with bloodstains on his face and white tunic. His son, two security guards and two members of his staff were among the injured.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but suspicion will fall on Islamic militants who have repeatedly targeted top Pakistani officials, including President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, for support of the U.S.-led war on terror.
The suicide bomber struck soon after Sherpao had finished addressing a political gathering attended by hundreds of people in an open field in the northwestern town of Charsadda.
A local journalist who was covering the event said the attacker got within 15 yards of Sherpao, detonating the bomb in a crowd that had gathered around the minister as he was about to get into his car.
The bombing left a carnage of limbs and body parts and triggered a stampede, said Faiz Mohammed.
"When the dust settled, I saw my clothes were stained with human brain, flesh and blood," said Mohammed, who suffered a slight leg injury.