Pakistan suicide attack kills six

Taleban in Orakzai. However, this attack may have been sectarian

At least six people have been killed and several wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in north-western Pakistan.

The attack took place in Orakzai, the only tribal region that does not have a border with Afghanistan.

The area is dominated by minority Shia Muslims and local officials suggested it could be a sectarian attack.

The tribal regions are also the scene of a military operation against al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters and tribesmen who support their cause.

Council meeting

The attacker reportedly detonated the bomb after police and local tribesmen had ordered him to stop at a checkpoint.

It was unclear whether the dead were police or civilians.

One intelligence official told Reuters news agency the bomber was trying to reach a tribal council meeting aimed at settling a Shia-Sunni dispute.

"The bomber tried to drive into a market in a Shia neighbourhood where the meeting was taking place but blew up his car when police tried to stop him at a checkpoint," the official said.

Orakzai has been relatively peaceful compared to other tribal areas.

The north-west in general has seen a wave of recent violence.

This week alone four people were killed in a suicide attack on a military convoy in Charsadda district in North West Frontier Province and nine died in a suicide car bomb attack on a security checkpoint in the town of Mingora in the Swat valley.