Rocket and bomb attack on home of politician kills eight

MILITANTS used rockets and a bomb to attack the family home of a lawmaker in Pakistan's volatile northwest early today, killing eight people including the politician's brother.

Meanwhile, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik announced a ban on the country's umbrella Taliban group, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The militants targeted the Swat Valley residence of provincial lawmaker Waqar Ahmed Khan of the ruling Awami National Party. Khan confirmed that his brother, two nephews and several guards died in the attack on the compound, belonging to him and his family.

Pakistan's Taliban movement has claimed responsibility for a handful of devastating suicide bombings in recent days, calling them revenge for military offensives in Swat and the northwest Bajur tribal region.

A peace deal struck between lawmakers and militants in Swat appears to be in tatters amid continuing fighting.

The military operations come as country's federal ruling coalition appears on the brink of collapse.

The US fears that pockets of Pakistan's northwest have become safe zones for militants who plan attacks on NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.