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| India-Pakistan |
| Suicide attack at Kharian army base, soldier killed |
| 2007-03-30 |
| A suicide attacker blew himself up at a military training ground in eastern Pakistan on Thursday, killing one soldier and wounding at least six more, officials said. The bomber detonated explosives at a training ground near Kharian, 130 kilometres southeast of Islamabad. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said one soldier was killed and six others wounded. However, military and police officials said seven were wounded. Officials said soldiers at the Guliana training ground, about four kilometres from Kharian, were learning driving skills when the bomber approached on foot and blew himself up near an army truck. Ahsan Mehboob, the police chief of the surrounding Gujrat district, said the wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital, two of them in critical condition. Mehboob said the bomberÂ’s upper body was mutilated beyond recognition. Intelligence agents arrived at the scene to collect and preserve evidence, he said. Officials declined to speculate about who was behind the attack. However, the blast was the latest in a string of suicide bombings raising concern that militants aligned with the Taliban and Al Qaeda are gaining strength and taking aim at President Gen Pervez MusharrafÂ’s US-aligned government. The attack comes two days after gunmen on motorbikes hurled grenades and opened fire on an army vehicle in Bajaur Agency, killing five officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. |
| Posted by:Fred |