LAKKI MARWAT, Pakistan News: At least 40 people have been killed and another 80 wounded in a suicide attack here Friday evening.

According to preliminary reports, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the outer wall of a playground in Shah Hassan Khail area when scores of people were gathered there to watch a volleyball match between two local teams.

At least 27 deaths have so far been confirmed in the attack while more than 80 injured have been rushed to District Hospital and other nearby medical facilities.

Police, other law enforcement agencies’ personnel and paramedics arrived at the scene soon after the attack and carried out emergency relief activities. The area has been cordoned off, it was reported.

Police said Friday’s bombing in Lakki Marwat city, not far from South Waziristan, was possible retaliation for local residents’ efforts to keep militants out of the area.

“The locality has been a hub of militants. Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area. This attack seems to be reaction to their expulsion,” local police chief Ayub Khan told reporters.

He said the bomber drove onto the field, which lies in a congested neighborhood, during the volleyball contest. Some nearby houses collapsed, and “we fear that some 10 or so people might have been trapped in the rubble,” Khan said.