By Alamgir Bitani
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A bomb blew up in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday killing 10 people, hours after a suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles at militants in another region on the Afghan border and killed 10.
The violence came as the Pakistani military battled Taliban militants in a northwestern valley in an offensive that has forced more than 900,000 people from their homes.
The blast in Peshawar blew up a passing school bus and city police chief Sifwat Ghayyur said four children and two women were among the dead.
"It was a remote controlled bomb. Ten people have been killed and 18 wounded," Ghayyur told Reuters.
Militant violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan has surged over the past two years, raising fears for its stability.
The insecurity has also alarmed the United States which needs Pakistani action to help defeat al Qaeda and bring stability to neighbouring Afghanistan.
The army launched an offensive in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, last week to stop the spread of Taliban influence.
More than 900,000 have fled from the former tourist valley and the United Nations has warned of a humanitarian tragedy unless Pakistan gets massive help.
Earlier on Saturday, a suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles at militants in the North Waziristan ethnic Pashtun tribal region, to the southwest of Peshawar, killing 10 of them including two Arabs, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The United States, alarmed by deteriorating security in Afghanistan, began stepping up drone attacks on Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Pakistan last year.
There has been no let-up since President Barack Obama's administration took office in January, despite objections from Pakistan.
ARABS
Two missiles were fired into the Khaisor area of the North Waziristan ethnic Pashtun tribal region at around 8 a.m. (0200 GMT), the security officials said.
One missile hit a house in the Khaisor area of North Waziristan's ethnic Pashtun tribal region. Another struck a nearby vehicle.
"Ten militants were killed. Two of them are Arabs but we don't know their nationalities," an intelligence official in the region told Reuters. Khaisor is about 20 km (12 miles) south of Mir Ali town, a hub for foreign militants in the region.
It was third such attack this month. This week, eight people were killed in a similar attack in neighbouring South Waziristan.
The United States has carried out about 40 drone air strikes since the beginning of last year, most since September, killing more than 320 people, according to a tally of reports from Pakistani security officials, district government officials and residents.
Pakistan says the drones violate its sovereignty and undermine efforts to deal with militancy because they inflame public anger and bolster militant support.