Pakistan:At least 15 Pakistani soldiers were killed yesterday in a suicide bombing at an army building near the capital Islamabad, the military said, the second major attack on the army this month.
The blast occurred in the canteen of the building used by the army's elite Special Services Group (SSG) in the town of Tarbela Ghazi, about 70km (43 miles) northwest of Islamabad. President Pervez Musharraf, who is also army chief, served in the SSG.
"It was a suicide attack. The bomber blew himself up in the canteen when the soldiers were dining," a security official said.
Military spokesman Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad said 15 soldiers were killed.
Earlier this month, 25 people, most of them staff members of an army intelligence agency, were killed in twin suicide attacks in Rawalpindi garrison town, adjoining Islamabad.
Officials said evidence pointed to the involvement of al-Qaeda-linked militants who are battling security forces in the tribal region near the Afghan border.
Pakistan has seen a wave of bomb and suicide attacks since an army assault in July on Islamabad's Red Mosque, known for its links with Taliban militants.
The latest violence coincided with the visit of US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte to Pakistan.
Despite growing concern over Gen Musharraf's hold on power, Mr Negroponte praised Pakistan's anti-terrorism drive and said Washington was committed to a long-term relationship with Islamabad. Gen Musharraf told Mr Negroponte there should never be any doubt as to Pakistan's commitment to fighting extremism and militancy as "it was in its own national interests". Parliamentary elections are due by the turn of the year.
Unidentified gunmen fired on a passenger bus in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi yesterday, killing six and wounding several others, police said.
"They were on motorbikes and as the vehicle neared the Karachi university campus, they opened fire," Zubair Mahmood, a senior police officer, told Reuters. "We have confirmed reports of six dead."
- (Reuters; additional reporting by Augustine Anthony)