Pakistan wedding turns to carnage

Armed tribes rule parts of north-east Pakistan

A wedding feast in north-east Pakistan turned to carnage after a mortar shell launched in celebration misfired, killing 21 people, including the bridegroom.

More than 40 guests were wounded in the accident, which happened in the village of Korez, 250 kilometres (180 miles) south-west of the border city of Peshawar.

Local officials said guests had been "joyously" firing their weapons in the air in a traditional act of celebration, when one of the groom's relatives loaded the mortar "upside-down".

It exploded prematurely, killing several people outright.

The wounded were taken to a government hospital in Kohat, where some of them died from their injuries, hospital sources said.

Officials said 14 children, women and the 22-year-old bridegroom were among the dead.

Korez is in the lawless region of Orakzai, where tribes are powerful and the government has little influence.

Weapons are freely available on the black market there.