From correspondents in Wah, Pakistan | August 22, 2008
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main army munitions factory overnight, killing 64 workers.
In the second bombing to rock the feuding Coalition Government since president Pervez Musharraf resigned on Monday, the attackers struck a crowd of workers leaving the huge complex in Wah, 32km west of Islamabad, after their shift.
The Taliban claimed responsibility and threatened to carry out more suicide bombings if an army offensive against militants near the Afghan border was not stopped.
"It's a massive attack," local police chief Nasir Durrani said.
"Two men apparently blew themselves up outside the factory during a shift change. The bombers were on foot and they exploded themselves less than a minute apart."
"The death toll has gone up to 64," local police officer Shafiq Ahmed said.
Earlier the factory in a statement put the toll at 59 dead and 67 wounded.
Workers were streaming through the gates of the tightly guarded factory during a shift change when the two bombs exploded. The force of the explosions knocked many people to the ground and sprayed others with shrapnel.
"I looked back and saw the limbs of my colleagues flying through the air," said Shahid Bhatti, 29, his clothes soaked in blood.
Emergency workers with plastic bags on their hands lifted mangled and blackened corpses onto stretchers, while forensic teams picked through scraps of flesh and scattered shoes.
The Pakistani Ordnance Factories at Wah is a cluster of about 20 industrial units producing artillery, tank and anti-aircraft ammunition for the Pakistani armed forces. It employs 25,000 to 30,000 workers.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani appealed to MPs to urgently draw up a strategy against terrorism "even if you have to sit together for a week".
US President George W Bush called Mr Gilani to express sympathy for those killed in recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
The two men "reaffirmed their mutual support for going after these extremists that are a threat to both Pakistan, the United States and the entire world," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House's National Security Council.
Maulvi Umar, a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban groups, said the arms factory attack was to avenge airstrikes on militants in Bajur, an extremist stronghold in the mountainous frontier region.
The blasts came two days after a suicide bomber attacked a hospital in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday, killing 30 people.
Source: The Australian
Muslims Against Sharia unequivocally condemn homicide bombing in Wah.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
May homicide bombers rot in hell for eternity. May their accomplices join them soon.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main army munitions factory overnight, killing 64 workers.
In the second bombing to rock the feuding Coalition Government since president Pervez Musharraf resigned on Monday, the attackers struck a crowd of workers leaving the huge complex in Wah, 32km west of Islamabad, after their shift.
The Taliban claimed responsibility and threatened to carry out more suicide bombings if an army offensive against militants near the Afghan border was not stopped.
"It's a massive attack," local police chief Nasir Durrani said.
"Two men apparently blew themselves up outside the factory during a shift change. The bombers were on foot and they exploded themselves less than a minute apart."
"The death toll has gone up to 64," local police officer Shafiq Ahmed said.
Earlier the factory in a statement put the toll at 59 dead and 67 wounded.
Workers were streaming through the gates of the tightly guarded factory during a shift change when the two bombs exploded. The force of the explosions knocked many people to the ground and sprayed others with shrapnel.
"I looked back and saw the limbs of my colleagues flying through the air," said Shahid Bhatti, 29, his clothes soaked in blood.
Emergency workers with plastic bags on their hands lifted mangled and blackened corpses onto stretchers, while forensic teams picked through scraps of flesh and scattered shoes.
The Pakistani Ordnance Factories at Wah is a cluster of about 20 industrial units producing artillery, tank and anti-aircraft ammunition for the Pakistani armed forces. It employs 25,000 to 30,000 workers.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani appealed to MPs to urgently draw up a strategy against terrorism "even if you have to sit together for a week".
US President George W Bush called Mr Gilani to express sympathy for those killed in recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
The two men "reaffirmed their mutual support for going after these extremists that are a threat to both Pakistan, the United States and the entire world," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House's National Security Council.
Maulvi Umar, a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban groups, said the arms factory attack was to avenge airstrikes on militants in Bajur, an extremist stronghold in the mountainous frontier region.
The blasts came two days after a suicide bomber attacked a hospital in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday, killing 30 people.
Source: The Australian
Muslims Against Sharia unequivocally condemn homicide bombing in Wah.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
May homicide bombers rot in hell for eternity. May their accomplices join them soon.
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