A suicide bomb killed 35 people near Pakistan’s military headquarters Monday while a second blast wounded several police, continuing a wave of terrorism that prompted the United Nations to suspend long-term development work near the Afghan border.
The rash of attacks by Islamist militants has killed at least 300 people across Pakistan over the past month – including 11 U.N. workers – and threatened to destabilize the nuclear-armed nation.
The violence has grown bloodier since the government launched an anti-Taliban offensive in mid-October.
The first suicide bomber Monday killed 35 people outside a bank near Pakistan’s military headquarters in Rawalpindi, just a few miles from Islamabad.
Most of those waiting in line were from the military and were there to cash paychecks, said Mohammad Mushtaq, a wounded soldier.
“I was sitting on the pavement outside to wait for my turn,” said Mushtaq, who suffered a head injury. “The bomb went off with a big bang. We all ran. I saw blood and body parts everywhere.”
Four soldiers were killed in the attack and nine were wounded, said the army’s chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. In total, 35 people were killed, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombing, although suspicion immediately fell on the Pakistani Taliban.
Hours later, another suicide bombing ripped through a police checkpoint on the outskirts of the eastern city of Lahore. At least seven policemen were wounded and two were in critical condition after a car with two men inside blew up as police went to search it.
