At least nine dead in suicide bomb attack near army headquarters

(20 Jan 2014) A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself near Pakistan's main military headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday, killing 13 people just a day after the militants struck inside an army compound in the northwest of the country killing 20 troops, officials and militants said.
The two-day barrage is among the most intense onslaughts recently against the Pakistani army as it struggles to battle insurgents in the country's volatile frontier regions.
Monday's attack took place early in the morning in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, next to the capital Islamabad.
Police said a suicide bomber struck just outside the main military headquarters.
A retired officer and five soldiers were among those killed, according to another police officer who said the bombing also wounded 18 people.
The suicide bomber was riding a bicycle and detonated his explosives when he got close to a military checkpoint, police said.
Sunday's bombing in the northwest targeted a vehicle in a convoy that was about to leave a military base in the town of Bannu and drive west to the North Waziristan tribal area, police said.
Pakistan's military said that attack also wounded 30 troops.
The Taliban had also claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack and called it a suicide bombing.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Shahidullah Shahid, told The Associated Press by telephone that the attack had been carried out to avenge the death of Waliur Rehman, the group's former second in command. He was killed last year in a US drone strike.
Shahid also claimed responsibility for the Rawalpindi blast, saying in another telephone call on Monday that the army was the target.
North Waziristan is considered a safe haven for al-Qaida-linked militants and Pakistani troop convoys in the region are often hit by roadside bombs, though attacks inside military compounds are rare.
The Pakistani military has been fighting for years in the tribal areas against militants who want to overthrow the government and establish a hard-line Islamic state.
The tribal region is also a refuge for insurgents fighting NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and US forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

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