Marriott reopens as bomber kills 34

? A suicide bomber pretending to need help with his car killed 34 people in northwest Pakistan on Sunday while the target of another recent attack, the Marriott in Islamabad, partially reopened three months after a brazen truck bombing at the luxury hotel left 54 dead.

The Marriott building was badly damaged by the September blast, but renovations, a security overhaul and the addition of a giant bombproof wall meant the hotel was ready to welcome guests again, the owner said.

The suicide attack on Sunday, at a polling station close to the Swat Valley, comes amid concern that extremist violence is set to spike now that Pakistan is shifting troops away from the region toward India.

The military has not confirmed the troop movements, but it has restricted military leave and reports said thousands were being redeployed away from the northwest toward the eastern border with India amid tensions over last month’s attacks in Mumbai.