Boy suicide bomber kills 31 at Pakistan army

A 12-year-old boy in a school uniform blew himself up at a Pakistani army recruitment center, killing 31 cadets, officials said, in an attack that challenges government assertions that it has weakened militants.

The army has carried out a series of offensives against the al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban movement, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The bomber struck recruits when cadets were busy in their morning training," a military official told reporters. At least 20 people were wounded.

The boy apparently walked into the compound, officials said.

"It seems the Taliban are still a very potent force because they continue to attack installations, even if they have been quiet for a time," said former general Talat Masood.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack. "Such cowardly attacks cannot affect the morale of the security agencies and the resolve of the nation to eradicate terrorism," he said in a statement.