Pakistan - suicide blast

Bomber kills at least 34 outside Rawalpindi hotel

Article published on the 2009-11-02 Latest update 2009-11-02 17:21 TU

Security officials survey the site of a suicide blast in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad Monday
(Photo: Reuters)

A blast outside a four-star hotel in Pakistan's garrison city of Rawalpindi has killed at least 34 people on Monday. Police said a suicide bomber on a motorbike ripped through a queue of people collecting salaries near the hotel.

The blast came as the United Nations pulled expatriate staff from the North West Frontier Province amid security fears. This is just days after over 100 people died in a car bomb in the regional capital, Peshawar.

"We found parts of a suicide vest and some body parts of the suicide attacker," senior police official Aslam Tarin told reporters. "More than 20 were wounded”.

The blast took place at Mall Road, near the Shalimar Hotel. The site is about half a kilometre from Pakistan’s army headquarters, where 10 gunmen kept up a 24-hour siege last month.

The bustling area is home to several offices and banks, which is fuelling fears the death toll could rise.

Taliban fighters stepped up attacks after Pakistan’s army last month began a major offensive against extremists in the South Waziristan region, which borders Afghanistan.

The Pakistani government today placed a 3.4 million euro bounty on Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and 18 of his fighters.