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Pakistan: 60 wounded as bomb explodes at opposition MP’s home
Tue. October 07, 2008 04:16 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) At least seven people were killed and 61 others wounded when a bomb exploded at the home of an opposition lawmaker in eastern Pakistan on Monday, officials and a witness said.
Experts say the explosion was the latest in a string of attacks apparently targeting lawmakers in Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S. war on terror.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has experienced a wave of violence in recent months as U.S. cross-border strikes have surged and Pakistan has stepped up military operations against insurgents.
The blast occurred in the Bhakkar area of Punjab province at the home of Rasheed Akbar Niwani, police official Ahmad Kamal said. Niwani is a member of ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party, the main opposition party in the federal government. It was not immediately clear whether he was injured.
Meanwhile, Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and prosperous province, has largely been spared the militant-led violence that has gripped the nation's northwest, where Taliban and al-Qaida militants have bases. However, militants have shown they can reach well beyond the northwest.
Ehsanul Haq, a medical official at the district hospital in Bhakkar, said seven bodies had been brought in and that 61 people had been wounded, including a dozen who were seriously hurt.
A witness described a smoky, dusty and gory scene.
"Everything has turned black here," Mohammad Ashraf told The Associated Press by phone. "I am seeing body parts lying everywhere. There are many heads lying here. It is blood everywhere."
However, it was unclear why Niwani's home was targeted.
On Sunday, suspected militants fired rockets near the home of the top provincial official in northwestern Pakistan. No one was injured in the strikes in Mardan that apparently targeted North West Frontier Province's chief minister, Amir Haider Khan Hoti.
Last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the house of another leading pro-government politician, killing four people and underscoring the insurgents' intent to cripple the civilian administration.-Taiwan News
News Category: World
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