New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- The man reached the entrance of the police station before anyone could stop him. He had been challenged at the checkpoint, Pakistani officials said on Sunday, but detonated the explosive device before security personnel could respond. The blast killed 14 people and injured at least 20 others in the city of Kabal in the Swat district of northwestern Pakistan - one of the country's most persistently volatile regions.

whether the gathering was targeted, whether it drew additional victims toward the blast radius, or whether it was coincidental - had not been established as of Sunday evening.

Dawn newspaper, citing the Swat District Police, reported 14 people killed. The gap in the injury figures between different report...