Nine killed in explosion in central Pakistan

(For full coverage of Pakistan, click on [ID:nAFPAK])

* Explosives being stored in house go off

* Suicide bomber jackets, rocket launchers found at scene

By Asim Tanveer

MIAN CHANNU, Pakistan, July 13 (Reuters) - An explosion killed at least nine people and wounded scores in Pakistan on Monday, as an explosives cache believed to have been stored by militants ignited in a house used to teach children the Koran.

The blast flattened over a dozen mud-built houses in a village near Mian Channu in central Punjab province, far from the conflict in the northwest, where government forces have been battling Taliban fighters since late April.

There was evidence militants were using the house where the explosion occurred as police found four jackets used by suicide bombers and six rocket launchers in the rubble, said Kaleem Ullah, an official with the rescue team.

"It appears that the blast was caused by some explosives that were being stored in the house," district police chief Kamran Khan said, without elaborating.

The victims included seven children, a man and a woman, said a doctor at the town's hospital. At least 70 people were wounded, but many were still trapped beneath the rubble.

"We are facing difficulties in our rescue efforts because there is a lot of public interference," the doctor said.

Rana Sanaullah, provincial law minister, who also handles security matters, said police had arrested the owner of the house and he was a former activist of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a banned Sunni Muslim militant group involved in sectarian violence against minority Shi'ite Muslims.

Militants have launched bomb attacks in other parts of Pakistan in retaliation for the northwest offensive, and southern Punjab is home to some jihadi groups that have forged ties with the Taliban and al Qaeda.

The explosion in the village some 250 km (156 miles) southwest of Lahore, came as the government began returning some of the 2 million people displaced by fighting in the former tourist valley of Swat back to their homes. [ID:nSP488189]

The government wants to return the displaced people as soon as possible in order to end their suffering and reduce the risk of public support waning for the campaign against the militants.

With the Swat operation in its final stages, the army is preparing for a second major assault, this time on the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border.

U.S. officials accuse Mehsud of providing suicide bombers for attacks against U.S., NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, while Pakistani officials blame him for a wave of militant violence since late 2007.

Mehsud is accused of being behind the slaying of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, though he has denied it and there are many conspiracy theories over her assassination.

There have been Pakistani air strikes on Mehsud territory in recent weeks, and U.S. drones have hit several targets there in the past week, in a move to soften up the militants' defences.

Pakistan says publicly the U.S. drone attacks violate its sovereignty, but U.S. officials say Islamabad has given its nod. (Writing by Jason Subler; Editing By Simon Cameron-Moore and Jerry Norton)