At least 13 people of a marriage party were killed and 14 injured when a remote-controlled bomb ripped through the vehicle carrying them in northwest Pakistan's troubled Swat region on Friday.

The police said the victims were returning from a wedding ceremony in the Matta sub-district of Swat, where the security forces have been conducting a major anti-militancy operation since last year, when their van was hit by the blast.

Army rescue teams rushed to the spot to evacuate the injured. This was the first bomb attack in Pakistan since Monday's general election, in which the opposition PPP and PML-N emerged the largest groups in the National Assembly.