Three separate bombings killed 15 people in Pakistan on Saturday, amid increasing turmoil that threatens the country's stability.
A car rigged with a bomb exploded in northwest Pakistan as police were removing a body from it, according to local authorities. The body appeared to be the bait to lure police to the car. The blast killed seven police officers and a bystander.
Peshawar police chief Rahim Shah said police were called to the Badaber region on a report that a body was in a parked car.
"They found the white car. They also saw a body inside, but when they were pulling it out, the car bomb went off," Shah said.
Police and local residents had recently chased militants out of the area, which led to threats of retaliation.
In a second incident Saturday, a roadside bomb killed three civilians and wounded four troops in the town of Darra Adam Khel.
And in the remote tribal village of Tirah in Khyber, a suicide bomber killed four people and injured five others at a mosque, a local government official said.
The mosque was the headquarters for Ansarul Islam, a rival militant group to Lashkar-e-Islam.
The bombs come just days after gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in the capital, Lahore, and precede planned anti-government rallies to protest the decision to bar the country's main opposition leader from elected office.
The increasing turmoil has alarmed U.S. and other Western officials, who would like Pakistan to boost its efforts at fighting militants, particularly in the northwest.
Officials believe al Qaeda and Taliban fighters use the region to launch attacks on NATO and U.S. forces that are stationed in nearby Afghanistan, as well as attacks within Pakistan.
On Friday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was "vital" for politicians to work together "against the mortal threat that Pakistan faces, which is a threat from its internal enemies."
Pakistani officials have recently declared victory against militants in the Bajur tribal region, and say they are close to pushing militants out of the nearby Mohmand tribal region.
However, Pakistan has caused worry in the West by engaging in peace talks with Taliban militants in the Swat Valley.
Also on Saturday, Pakistani officials said they are investigating a report that an unmanned U.S. drone had crashed in the country's northwest.
The drones are believed to be operated by the CIA and have been known to launch missile strikes against Pakistani targets.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press, said that investigators had not yet located any wreckage at the suspected crash site of Angoor Ada village.
U.S. Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas would only confirm that reports of the crash were being investigated.
The U.S. has increased missile strikes in Pakistan. The drones most often target areas in the South Waziristan tribal region, a militant stronghold.
Col. Greg Julian, the top military spokesperson in Afghanistan, said he could not comment on the crash report.
With files from The Associated Press
