Pakistan: Blast near army headquarters in Rawalpindi, 24 killed(2 Nov 2009)

The biggest victims of Islam are the people who have to live under it.

ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber struck a busy commercial area near the Pakistan army's headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday, killing at least 24 people, including military personnel.

The blast caused considerable damage to the facade of the Shalimar Hotel on Mall Road, less than a kilometre from the army's fortified general headquarters that was besieged by a group of terrorists nearly a month ago.

The blast, which occurred despite stepped up security in the area after the attack on the military headquarters and targeting of senior army officers, wounded over 20 people, police said.

Several army officers' messes, sensitive military installations and other hotels are located near the hotel.

Police officials were quoted by a news channel as saying that a suspected motorcycle-borne suicide bomber blew himself up outside the hotel when policemen tried to intercept him.

Many people, including pensioners, who had come to a state-run bank near the hotel to collect their salaries and pensions were among the dead and injured.

Witnesses said that private security guards and army personnel were also among the victims in the explosion that occurred at 10.40am.

Military police and paramilitary personnel cordoned off the area and diverted traffic from the road in front of the hotel.

Ambulances and fire fighting vehicles rushed to the site to launch rescue operations. An emergency was declared in hospitals in Rawalpindi.

The blast comes as the army is involved in a massive offensive against Taliban militants in South Waziristan.

There have been several retaliatory attacks since the offensive began last month, including a deadly car bomb blast in the city of Peshawar on Wednesday that killed over 100 people.

"Pakistan: Blast near army headquarters in Rawalpindi, 24 killed(2 Nov 2009)" From IslamAndWorldPeace

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