Suicide Bomber Hits Pakistani Capital, 1 Dead

Posted June 13th, 2011 at 9:15 am (UTC-5)
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A suicide bomber struck an Islamabad bank on Monday, killing one other person in the first such attack in the Pakistani capital in more than a year and a half.

Police say the attacker detonated his explosives after being stopped from entering the bank by a security guard. The guard was killed in the blast and at least four other people were wounded.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion, which shattered glass and badly damaged the bank and nearby vehicles.

No group has claimed responsibility, but the Pakistani Taliban has vowed attacks in retaliation for the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month in a garrison town near Islamabad.

Monday's attack was rare in the heavily protected capital and the first since December of 2009, when a bomber attacked navy headquarters in Islamabad, killing one person.

In northwest Pakistan, security officials say a roadside bomb killed three Pakistani soldiers in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan on Monday.

At least four other soldiers were wounded in the blast in the Ladha area of South Waziristan – a known stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants.