Two Suicide Bombings in Pakistan Kill at Least 12
By ZAHID HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD -- Suicide car bombs ripped through an office of Pakistan's main spy agency and hit a police post in the country's violent northwest Friday, killing at least 12 people in what appeared to be the Taliban's latest attempts to target the South Asian nation's security forces.
The two separate strikes were launched within an hour of one another, and both took place near the South Waziristan tribal region, where Pakistan's army is battling a major Taliban faction and its al Qaeda allies. The militants have vowed to continue launching terror attacks until the army pulls back from South Waziristan.
Friday's first attack, which killed at least nine people, hit an office of the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the gateway to the Taliban-dominated tribal areas that run along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
The bomber, who officials said had packed more than 200 kilograms of explosives into his pickup truck, struck as people were arriving for work. The vehicle pulled up to a police post outside the office, a gunman opened fire from inside and then the explosives were detonated, said Malik Naveed Ahmed, the city's police chief.
The blast reverberated throughout the city and left the immediate vicinity covered in smoke. "It was a massive blast that rattled the entire area," said Khan Mohammed, a government employee who lives nearby.
Doctors at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar said more than 50 people, including women and children, were wounded. Police said some ISI employees were killed and wounded, although they couldn't say how many. There was no immediate comment from the ISI or the military, which oversees the spy agency.
About an hour after the attack in Peshawar, another suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a police post in the village of Bakka Khel in an area that abuts South Waziristan. At least three people were killed and 25 wounded, police said.
"It is a guerrilla war, and insurgents are targeting everything," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister of North West Frontier province, where both Peshawar and Bakka Khel are located.
Peshawar has borne the brunt of a six-week campaign of terror strikes in Pakistan's cities and towns by the Taliban. The most deadly attack took place last month, when a suicide bomber struck one of Peshawar's crowded markets, killing more than 120 people.
After Friday's bombing, authorities in Peshawar shut down all of the city's schools. They had recently reopened after being shuttered because of earlier attacks.
By ZAHID HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD -- Suicide car bombs ripped through an office of Pakistan's main spy agency and hit a police post in the country's violent northwest Friday, killing at least 12 people in what appeared to be the Taliban's latest attempts to target the South Asian nation's security forces.
The two separate strikes were launched within an hour of one another, and both took place near the South Waziristan tribal region, where Pakistan's army is battling a major Taliban faction and its al Qaeda allies. The militants have vowed to continue launching terror attacks until the army pulls back from South Waziristan.
Friday's first attack, which killed at least nine people, hit an office of the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the gateway to the Taliban-dominated tribal areas that run along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
The bomber, who officials said had packed more than 200 kilograms of explosives into his pickup truck, struck as people were arriving for work. The vehicle pulled up to a police post outside the office, a gunman opened fire from inside and then the explosives were detonated, said Malik Naveed Ahmed, the city's police chief.
The blast reverberated throughout the city and left the immediate vicinity covered in smoke. "It was a massive blast that rattled the entire area," said Khan Mohammed, a government employee who lives nearby.
Doctors at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar said more than 50 people, including women and children, were wounded. Police said some ISI employees were killed and wounded, although they couldn't say how many. There was no immediate comment from the ISI or the military, which oversees the spy agency.
About an hour after the attack in Peshawar, another suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a police post in the village of Bakka Khel in an area that abuts South Waziristan. At least three people were killed and 25 wounded, police said.
"It is a guerrilla war, and insurgents are targeting everything," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister of North West Frontier province, where both Peshawar and Bakka Khel are located.
Peshawar has borne the brunt of a six-week campaign of terror strikes in Pakistan's cities and towns by the Taliban. The most deadly attack took place last month, when a suicide bomber struck one of Peshawar's crowded markets, killing more than 120 people.
After Friday's bombing, authorities in Peshawar shut down all of the city's schools. They had recently reopened after being shuttered because of earlier attacks.
