A suicide bomber killed 17 Pakistanis and wounded 40 more in an attack on the home of a politician in the city of Bhakkar in Punjab province.

The bomber struck at the home of Rasheed Akbar Khan Nowani during celebrations for Eid-al-Fitr, the holiday at the end of Ramadan. Nowani, a member of Pakistan's National Assembly, is reported to have been seriously wounded in the attack.

Nowani is a member of the Pakistani Muslim League - Nawaz, or PML-N, political party which is run by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. "He contested the election independently and then joined the PML-N," according to The Pakistani Spectator.

Today's attack is the latest in the Taliban's terror and military campaign that has gripped Pakistan. Suicide bombers have struck in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Wah, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, and Bannu over the past year. More than 1,800 Pakistanis have been reported to have been killed in suicide attacks alone this year.

The Taliban has stepped up its promised terror campaign outside of the tribal areas after peace negotiations broke down and the military initiated offensives in Bajaur and Swat.

Baitullah Mehsud, the commander of the Pakistani Taliban, had previously threatened to wage "jihad" and turn the provinces of Sindh and Punjab "into a furnace" if the operations did not cease.

The Taliban insurgency has intensified in Swat, Bajaur, Kohat, Kurram, and other tribal agencies and settled districts in the region. Fighting has been especially heavy in Bajaur and Swat, where the government claimed more than 1,000 Taliban fighters have been killed over the past several weeks. Four days ago, the Taliban targeted the leader of the Awami National Party with a suicide bomber in his home in Charsadda.