Updated

Pakistani police say a roadside bomb has hit the election motorcade of a candidate backed by a secular-leaning party targeted by Taliban militants, killing two of his supporters.

Senior police officer Iqbal Khattak says the Sunday blast struck the convoy of Malik Adnan Wazir, who is campaigning in the Wali Noor area for the legislature of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for May 11 elections.

Another police officer Hidayatulah Khan says two vehicles in the convoy were destroyed, wounding eight people including the candidate. He said two of the eight died at the hospital while Wazir himself is in stable condition.

Wazir is supported by the secular Awami National Party. Both the ANP and the Taliban have strong support among ethnic Pashtuns who dominate the province.