Deadly blast hits northwestern Pakistan

A bomb attack targeting police has killed at least 20 people in Pakistan's northwestern tribal district along the Afghan border, officials say.

A suicide bomber targeting a paramilitary vehicle struck near a crowded street market in the town of Khar in the Bajur Agency region on Friday morning.

Eight security forces personnel are among the dead, officials said.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which a spokesperson for the group said was aimed at Fazal Rabi, a security officer who was given a presidential award for his role in fighting the Taliban.