Pakistan seeks terrorism key, bomber hits

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- As Pakistani lawmakers sought ways to fight terrorism a suicide bomber hit an Islamabad meeting of tribal leaders preparing to take on the Taliban, police say.

Pakistani police said 15 people died in Friday's attack on an open area meeting where tribal leaders were discussing forming a lashkar or militia to take on the Taliban, CNN reported.

The public debate over terrorism appears to be taking on a new sense of urgency, the Washington Post said.

On Thursday, Pakistani lawmakers met for a second day with the country's top security officials in a rare, closed-door parliamentary session devoted to violence.

The unusual move also follows a sharp rise in the number of U.S. missile strikes on alleged al-Qaida and Taliban operatives in northwestern Pakistan, near the Afghan border.

Two missiles, believed to have been fired by a U.S. Predator drone, crashed into houses in Pakistan's remote tribal areas Thursday and killed at least six, Pakistani officials said.