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Source: Reuters -
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Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a mosque and two other
militants fired on worshipers near Pakistan's military headquarters
after Friday prayers, killing at least 40 people, including army
officials.
The mosque is frequented by military officials in the town of
Rawalpindi, home to Pakistan's military establishment and only a
30-minute drive from the capital Islamabad.
The attack in what should be one of the most secure areas of
Pakistan was the latest challenge by militants against the writ of
the state. A local television station said people were executed in
cold blood.
"There are children among them who had come to pray with their
fathers. There are also elderly, retired security officials," said
military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas.
"We have reports of some security officials killed or injured but
we are confirming that." He said an army major-general was
killed.
Abbas put the death toll at 36. Four "terrorists" also died, he
said. Rescue services and a senior police official said 40. But
it's not clear if that figure included the four militants.
Pakistan's army is fighting Taliban fighters blamed for bombings
that have killed hundreds of people since an offensive was launched
on their stronghold South Waziristan in October.
The nuclear-armed country faces mounting US pressure to root out
Islamist militants operating along forbidding border areas to help
in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters two suicide bombers
blew themselves up inside the mosque while two others kept firing
outside. Ten children were among the dead.
"I believe they are not just the enemy of Islam but also of the
country. They want to finish the upcoming generation," he
said.
A policeman said the militants arrived in a grey Toyota car.
The cleric had just finished his sermon with the phrase "Allahu
akbar" (God is greatest) when an explosion shook worshippers in the
Parade Lane mosque, a witness said.
"America's war"
"As soon as we finished prayers. I heard a blast and firing. I saw
some wounded laying in the courtyard of the mosque," said Bakhtawar
Hussain.
The violence will pressure President Asif Ali Zardari to do more to
neutralise the threat from the stubborn Taliban insurgency. But he
is an increasingly unpopular figure with a weak government who has
been at odds with the all-powerful military, which sets national
security policy.
It was the second brazen assault on the area since October, when
suspected Taliban gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked the army
compound, killing three hostages and two army commandos.
"Initial information indicates that they were two to three
attackers who entered the mosque by scaling a wall," senior police
official Aslam Tarin told Reuters of Friday's attack.
A helicopter hovered over a wide avenue sealed off by security
forces with G3 rifles, apparently searching for militants who may
have fled after the attack.
In outlining his Afghanistan strategy in a speech on Tuesday, US
President Barack Obama made a plea to Pakistan to fight the
"cancer" of extremism and said Washington would not tolerate
Pakistan allowing its territory to be a safe haven for
militants.
That request may be unrealistic in a country where anti-US feelings
and suspicions run high. Many say Pakistan should not be fighting
the United States' war against militants. Failure in Afghanistan
could heavily damage Obama's presidency.
"This is not our war. This is America's war and as long as we
continue to stay in the American bloc things will not change," said
Rawalpindi resident Mujtaba Abbasi.
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