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Suicide bomber kills Pakistani army surgeon-general, six others
A suicide bomber killed a senior Pakistani army general and six others on Monday in a brazen attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi that shattered a relative calm following crucial national elections a week ago.The attacker blew himself up after approaching a vehicle carrying Lieutenant-General Mushtaq Baig, the Army surgeon-general, around 2:30 pm within the city's cantonment area, where the army's national headquarters is located, according to DawnNews TV, citing an unnamed senior Interior Ministry official. DawnNews reported that Baig, his driver and a bodyguard were killed, along with at least four other people. Other local TV stations were also reporting that Baig was among those killed. Aaj TV reported that at least nine people were killed and several injured, and emergency medical teams were rushing them to local hospitals. One eyewitness told DawnNews that the target was the army car and that he saw body parts on the street after the explosion. The attack was the first suicide bombing since Pakistan held National Assembly elections week ago that saw main opposition parties sweep into power at the expense of the political backers of embattled President Pervez Musharraf. In the past 13 months, Pakistan has suffered dozens of suicide bombings and suicide car bombings across the country, mostly targeting security forces and political figures, which have killed more than 1,000 people. Islamic militants linked to the Taliban and al-Qaeda were believed to be behind the bombing campaign, which escalated in July 2007 after Musharraf ordered army commandos to raid Islamabad's Red Mosque to end a seize by armed Islamic militants holed up there, killing more than 100 people. Militant groups also vowed retaliation after the army launched an operation in the north-west Swat valley in October 2007 to flush out armed militants who had taken over dozens of villages and towns. Pakistani and US officials have also claimed that a Taliban commander in the country's tribal belt ordered the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a gun and suicide bombing attack at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi last December 27. Posted by: john frum 2008-02-25 |
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