'Dozen killed' in Pakistani bombing
Tuesday, 17 Jul 2007 20:23
Pakistani police were aware of a possible attack
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More than a dozen people are reported to have been killed by a suicide bomber in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Iftikhar Chaudhry, the country's suspended chief justice, had been due to address lawyers at a rally where the attack took place but was not present when the incident occurred.
As well as the rising death toll, many more people were wounded, with one eyewitness telling the Reuters news agency that he "saw body parts and limbs everywhere".
Mr Chaudhry was suspended by the president Pervez Musharraf following accusations of impropriety in March.
The bomber struck at a stall set up by the opposition party the Pakistan People's Party but the motive for the attack is as yet unclear.
It has been suggested that it could have been triggered by increasing tension between the government and opposition groups, which escalated last week with the storming of the Red Mosque that had been besieged by hardline clerics and militants.
Islamabad police chief Ahmed told reporters police had been aware suicide bombers had entered the capital, Reuters reports.
"The chief justice was not the target because it took place before he came," he said.
"We had information that some suicide bombers had entered Islamabad. We have beefed up security but it is not possible to stop such acts."