The attacker struck as mourners were preparing for prayers being held in open ground near corn fields in Jandol town in the district of Lower Dir, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the once Taliban-infested Swat Valley.
The blast came two days after four boys connected to another northwestern anti-militant group were killed in another explosion that was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday`s attack.
"The death toll has risen to 26 with 63 wounded in the attack," said senior police official Salim Khan Marwat, adding that the bomber targeted members of a state-sponsored anti-Taliban militia operating in the area.
He said the bomber`s head had been retrieved from the scene and indicated that the attacker, who had hidden in the nearby fields, was in his late teens.
"It was a suicide attack. A bomber came on foot and blew himself up in the middle of people as they were about to start prayers."
Local senior police official Akhtar Hayat Gandapur said there were more than 100 people attending the funeral.
Bombings blamed on Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked networks have killed more than 4,630 people since 2007, destabilising the nuclear-armed state. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
