34 die in Rawalpindi suicide bomb attack

At least 34 people have been killed in a suspected suicide bomb attack near an army headquarters in Rawalpindi say Pakistan government officials. An estimated 60 others have been injured.

Similar attacks have killed hundreds of people in recent weeks, as the army carries out an operation against Taliban militants in South Waziristan.

This latest attack happened in an area where security is controlled by the army. The Chaklala military cantonment is home to several large hotels including the Shalimar and the Pearl Continental.

National television has shown ambulances and police vehicles, at the scene of the explosion.

Pakistan is facing an upsurge in violence that culminated last week with a suicide car bomb which killed more than 100 people in Peshawar.

Pakistani soldiers are zeroing in on two major Taliban sanctuaries in their South Waziristan stronghold as government forces press ahead with their offensive in the lawless tribal region on the Afghan border.

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tags: Attack, Pakistan