Twin bombing kills 24 in Pakistan
The blasts took place in Rawalpindi
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Tuesday, 04, Sep 2007 01:32
A double suicide bombing has struck at the heart of Pakistan's military administration, killing at least 24 people.
Workers at the south Asian country's defence ministry were targeted in the apparently linked blasts, which took place in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The first attack occurred upon a bus ferrying workers to Pakistan's military headquarters near the capital Islamabad, with 16 people left dead as a result.
Minutes later a second explosion in the nearby market killed eight bystanders, with police revealing that up to 70 people had been injured as a result.
Officials have blamed the attacks on insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban.
"Initial investigations show the two were carried out by suicide bombers," interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema told the AFP news agency.
The blasts come as Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf faces a power struggle ahead of his bid to be re-elected later this year.
Political opponents ousted in his bloodless coup at the turn of the century have vowed to bring an end to the general's administration in expected presidential elections, amid criticisms that he has become a dictator.
Gen Musharraf has also faced increasing opposition from Islamic groups over his staunch support of George Bush's war on terror.
A number of terrorist attacks have struck Pakistan following the bloody storming of the Red Mosque earlier this summer in which more than 100 people are thought to have been killed.