Dawn : Bombs kill 20 near Pakistani capital

Bombs kill 20 near Pakistani capital

September 4, 2007

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, (AFP) - Powerful bombs ripped through a bus and a market in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi Tuesday, killing at least 20 people including 15 government defence workers, officials said.

The devastating attacks happened minutes apart in sensitive military areas of Islamabad’s twin city, which is also the site of President Pervez Musharraf's official army residence.

The first explosion hit a bus carrying defence workers to work in the city's Qasim bazaar, police officer Mohammad Hamid said.

Fifteen of the employees were killed and about a dozen wounded, interior ministry officials said.

The white-coloured 40-seater bus was almost completely destroyed by the blast, which could be heard across the city.

Rescue workers were cutting open the wreckage to pull out injured people and dead bodies.

“There was a huge bang then I saw the bus in a mangled heap. Body parts were scattered across the road and there was blood everywhere,” witness Mohammad Tahir said.

The second blast happened about three kilometres away when a suspected motorcycle bomb exploded in the city's R.A. bazaar, security officials said on condition of anonymity.

Five people were killed but it was not known if they were civilians or otherwise, they said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either bombing.

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Two bombs explode near Pakistan's capital; at least 24 dead, 66 injured

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept 4 (AP) - The death toll in the twin bomb blasts in Rawalpindi targeting an army bus and a commercial district in a city near the capital Tuesday, has risen to 24 besides 66 injured, the army said.