Rockets blast Pakistan MP's home

Eight people have been killed in a rocket attack by suspected militants on a politician's home in the Swat valley in north-west Pakistan, police said.

Provincial lawmaker Waqar Ahmed Khan, a member of the Awami National Party, confirmed his brother, two nephews and several guards had died in the attack.

The attack took place in the restive Kabal district. Mr Khan was not at home at the time of the attack.

Over the weekend Pakistani troops said they killed 35 militants in the area.

Growing militant violence in many pockets in Pakistan's western region has become a major challenge for Islamabad.

Taleban threat

"Taleban militants attacked the house of the brother of a ruling party MP with rockets," police official Rahim Badshah was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.

He said four people were wounded in the attack.

Witnesses told police that a large number of Taleban had first fired rockets at the house and then stormed inside, the agency said.

Over the weekend, Pakistani military officials said at least 35 militants had been killed in clashes in the Swat Valley.

At least two soldiers also died, the army said.

The fighting came hours after a suicide bomber killed at least eight policemen in the region by driving a vehicle laden with explosives at a check-point.

Taleban forces said they had launched the attack and would carry out more if the army did not halt its operations.