Riaz Khan of AP reports: PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber struck a funeral attended by anti-Taliban militiamen in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 36 mourners and wounding more than 100 in the deadliest militant attack in the country this year. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.

Arshad Arbab / EPA

Relatives of the victims of a suicide bomb blast targeting the funeral procession of an anti-Taliban militiaman's wife, cry at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan on March 9.

The blast near the city of Peshawar was not far from the tribally administered regions bordering Afghanistan where militants are at their strongest. The area struck is home to several tribal armies that battle the Taliban with the government's encouragement.

K. Parvez / Reuters

Medics assist a man injured by a suicide bomb attack at a funeral procession on the outskirts of Peshawar, at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar on March 9.

Police officer Zahid Khan said about 300 people were attending the funeral for the wife of a militiaman in the Matani area when the bomber struck. TV footage showed men picking up bloodied sandals and caps from a dusty, open space where mourners had gathered.

Fayaz Aziz / Reuters

A man stands next to sandals at the site of a suicide bomb attack on the outskirts of Peshawar on March 9.

Witnesses said the bomber, who appeared to be in his late teens, showed up at the funeral just as it was about to begin. "We thought this youth was coming to attend the funeral, but he suddenly detonated a bomb," survivor Syed Alam Khan said.

Arshad Arbab / EPA

Relatives of the victims of a suicide bomb blast cry at a hospital in Peshawar on March 9.

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