Blast at funeral in Pakistan kills 13

(Adds claim of responsibility)

By Jibran Ahmed

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 11 (Reuters) - A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 13 people and wounded 31 in an attack on a funeral on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar on Sunday, a police official said.

The deputy speaker of the provincial assembly, Khushdil Khan, was at the funeral, but he was unharmed.

"It seemed to be a suicide attack," the police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And the target is believed to be Khushdil Khan."

Khushdil is a leader in the Awami National Party (ANP), the dominant political party in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and has raised a tribal militia to battle militants in his area.

The blast occurred as people gathered around the grave of a local woman.

"It was a suicide attack," said victim Rahim Gul from his bed at the trauma centre of the Lady Reading Hospital, where many of the injured were taken. "There were pieces of human bodies and people were crying (because) of injuries."

The Darra Adem Khel faction of the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for attack. The secular ANP has long been a target for the militants.

"How is attacking a funeral Islamic in any way?" Asfanyar Wali Khan, head of the ANP, told reporters in Islamabad.

"I say that these people aren't Islam's followers," he added. "I don't even consider them human." (Additional reporting by Mahawish Rezvi in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Chris Allbritton; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)