A blast on Thursday rocked a military building in northwestern
Pakistani town of Tarbela, close to the capital Islamabad, killing
at least 15 army men, officials said.
The explosion took place in a dining area of the military
commandos "Special Services Group" in Tarbela, reportedly scores of
kilometers south of Islamabad, killing 15 army men and injuring
several others, the military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad
said.
However, the private DAWN NEWS TV channel quoted a tehsil
nazimas saying that some 20 people were killed and 44 others
injured.
Details of the blast are still not available and there has been
no immediate responsibility claim.
Arshad earlier said an investigation will be conducted to
determine the cause of the blast.
Private Geo TV channel reported that the incident was believed
to be a suicide attack.
The area was cordoned off after the blast and the injured have
been rushed to local hospital. High-security alert has been put in
nearby military areas.
The incident came a day before the beginning of Muslim fasting
month Ramazan on September 14, as security arrangements in major
cities including Islamabad and garrison city Rawalpindi have been
intensified.
Pakistan has seen a sharp increase of bomb attacks, mostly
targeting security personnel, since July when a government
operation stormed Islamabad-based hard-line Red Mosque. Over 300
people, mostly security personnel, were killed in various bomb
attacks over the two months.
Pakistan joined Washington-led war on terror following September
11, 2001 attack on the US, and has since sent around 90,000 troops
to its northwestern border areas to hunt al-Qaida and Taliban
remnants who sneaked into Pakistani soil for shelter after the
Afghan Taliban regime fell.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday reaffirmed
Pakistan's firm resolve to fight extremism and terrorism, saying it
was in the county's national interest, while talking to visiting US
Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte, according to an
official statement issued earlier.
(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2007)
