Article

2008-02-04 India-Pakistan

Rawalpindi: 8 feared killed in blast near army headquarters

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Posted by john frum 2008-02-04 00:00|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top
File under: al-Qaeda

#1 Suicide attack on Pakistan army bus kills five

A suicide attacker rammed a bomb-laden motorbike into a Pakistan army bus taking medical staff to work Monday in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, killing five people, police said.

The bomber struck during the morning rush-hour near the heavily guarded headquarters of the Pakistani military, mangling the minibus and damaging several other cars. Security officials cordoned off the area.

Pakistan has been hit by a spike in violence linked to its struggle against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, raising fears for security in the nuclear-armed Islamic nation ahead of key elections set for February 18.

"It was a suicide attack, it appears that a man on a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed the bus," the officer in charge of the local police station, Basharat Abbasi, told AFP at the scene.

"Five people are confirmed dead and 25 are injured, some of them critically. We have launched an investigation".

The army confirmed that four military personnel on the bus "embraced martyrdom" in a suicide attack, while a senior security official said a civilian in another vehicle also died.

The bus contained personnel from a military medical school in the city, security officials said. Most were trainees but one officer was among the dead, they said.

The blast blew off the roof, windows and doors of the bus, leaving it a charred wreck. Troops covered remains with a white tent while military police ordered journalists to stay away from the scene.

Eyewitness Shiraz Khalid, a motor mechanic, said he was buying breakfast when he heard a huge blast and rushed to the scene.

"The bus was completely destroyed. I saw dozens of people lying injured and dead on the road, covered in blood -- most were wearing army uniforms. One was a woman," Khalid told AFP.

"We shifted at least three people to hospital before the army came."

Another witness, Haji Shaukat Khan, said he was opening his tyre shop in the Royal Artillery Bazaar about 200 metres (yards) from the scene when he heard a "gigantic explosion."

"There was a big ball of fire and smoke. Some pellets from the bomb hit the wall of my shop and I dived down, because I was injured in the arm in another blast that happened at this spot last year," he said.

Posted by john frum 2008-02-04 07:24|| 2008-02-04 07:24|| Front Page Top

Posted by john frum 2008-02-04 08:45|| 2008-02-04 08:45|| Front Page Top

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