The Taliban on Saturday claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in a mosque in north-western Pakistan that killed 49 worshippers and injured more than 100, DPA reported.
Muhammad Talha, a spokesman for Taliban leader Tariq Afridi, who commands the militants in the Khyber tribal district, said Friday's attack was carried out to punish the local tribesman for their anti-Taliban activities.
"The attack was directed against the Kukikhel people because they cooperated with the government forces and helped them in recent actions against Taliban in the Tirah valley," Talha said.
The Tirah valley is considered a Taliban stronghold and the government has been trying to establish control there through the local tribes.
A teenage suicide bomber carried out Friday's attack at a main mosque in the Ghandi area of Jamrud in Khyber, which has a large population of Khukikhels. They are a sub-tribe of the Afridis, who are the dominant tribe in the district.
The attack came a day after the military chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, visited the neighbouring Kurrum tribal district to oversee the completion of a military operation against militants that was launched in early July.
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