The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Peshawar

A suicide car bombing at a police station in northwestern Pakistan killed at least six officers on Saturday - the latest in a string of such attacks claimed by Taliban militants, security officials said.

The violence underscored the many challenges ahead for the two main parties in Pakistan's ruling coalition - traditional rivals who united to force Pervez Musharraf from power less than one week ago.

The car bombing came two days after Taliban militants carried out one of Pakistan's deadliest-ever terrorist attacks - twin suicide bombings that killed 67 people at the country's biggest weapons manufacturing complex. Though the five-month-old government initially sought to tame militants in peace negotiations, it has in recent weeks become entangled in increasing fighting with hard-line Islamic movements along its border.

The attack in Swat, where Islamic militants have been battling security forces to pressure the government to enforce Taliban-style laws, killed six and wounded several others, said local police official Mohib Ullahn.

A Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan, immediately claimed responsibility and vowed more attacks if the government did not halt army operations in the area, once a popular tourist destination.

"We had warned the government to target police and the army if it didn't stop operations against us in Swat," he told The Associated Press by telephone. "The government ignored and continued attacking our position."

Also Saturday, a civilian died and three were wounded in the Bari Kot village in Swat when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle, Khan said.