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| Twin suicide bombings kill 30 in Pakistan | | | Islamabad | Nov 24
Two near-simultaneous suicide bombings killed at least 30 people, most of them military personnel, and injured many others in Pakistan's garrison city of Rawalpindi today, triggering tensions ahead of the return of exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif to the country tomorrow.
Military Spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said the blasts occurred almost simultaneously at 7.45 am local time one at a check post near the gate of the army General Headquarters and another targeting a bus carrying defence ministry personnel near a key ISI facility on the Faizabad-Murree Road.
At least 30 people were killed and many injured in the twin bombings, security sources were quoted as saying by the media. However, Arshad said 15 people had died in the blasts, adding that both suicide bombers were in cars. Some reports suggested that the death toll could be up to 35.
President Pervez Musharraf, who cited growing extremism and a series of suicide attacks as one of the main reasons for imposing emergency, condemned the twin bombings.
Such acts could not deter the government from continuing its fight against terrorism, state-run APP news agency quoted him as saying.
Musharraf directed authorities to investigate the attacks and crack down on the "masterminds responsible for this heinous crime".
In the attack near the General Headquarters, two soldiers manning the check post in Saddar area were injured when the suicide attacker blew himself up, Arshad said. Earlier reports had said one of the soldiers had died.
The second attack, which had the maximum casualties, occurred at a site opposite the Defence Ministry's Ojri Camp and near the gate of ISI's Hamza Camp facility. The suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the bus carrying defence ministry personnel, Arshad said.
The blast triggered a devastating fire that completely destroyed the bus. Many of the dead were burnt alive while over a dozen people were injured, eye witnesses said.
There were 50 people in the bus which was targeted by the suicide bomber. The injured were rushed to various hospitals in Rawalpindi and doctors said the condition of several of them was critical, TV channels reported.
Security agencies immediately cordoned off the site of the blasts and prevented journalists from entering the area. Forensic investigators and bomb disposal experts scoured the sites for evidence.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, a top militant spokesman in the Swat valley, Sirajuddin, had a few days ago warned that the ultras might launch suicide attacks in retaliation to a food blockade imposed by authorities in that area. Swat is located just 160 kms from Islamabad. |
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