Pakistani officials say the death toll from a suicide car bombing Tuesday in the central town of Dera Ghazi Khan has risen to at least 27.  Investigators say dozens of people have been injured in the blast, with some victims possibly trapped under rubble. The explosion occurred in a busy market near the home of a provincial government adviser Zulfikar Khosa.   Officials say several buildings - including the adviser's home - were heavily damaged.  However, no one was in the home when the attack occurred, and authorities are uncertain if the adviser was the target. The attack is the lat

U.S. officials say a top al-Qaida leader has been killed in a drone attack in restive northwestern Pakistan. The officials did not identify the person killed, but they said it was not al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.   A U.S. television network, NBC, first reported the drone attack earlier this week.  The exact date of the attack is unclear. Earlier this week, Pakistani officials said a suspected U.S. drone attack killed at least three people in northwestern Pakistan.

A terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida is claiming responsibility for last month's kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania and a Frenchman in Mali.   The Algerian-based group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb made the kidnapping claim in an audio tape given to the Al Jazeera television network. A man identifying himself as Saleh Abu Mohammad says that France and Spain will be informed later about the kidnappers' demands. Spain says it can not confirm the validity of the claim, but is investigating the report. Three Spanish aid workers were kidnapped November 29 sout