Pakistani security forces attacked

From Karl Penhaul and Zein Basravi
CNN

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two suicide bombings targeted security forces in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi early Saturday, killing at least 16 Defense Ministry workers, a military spokesman said.

An unknown number was hurt and the death toll was likely to rise, because one of the bombs targeted a bus with more than 30 civilian employees of the Defense Ministry onboard, said Lt. Col. Baseer Haider Malik.

The bus was on its way into a Defense Ministry complex when a car loaded with explosives rammed it from the rear and detonated, he said.

In another attack, a suicide car bomb targeted a checkpoint near the main military headquarters in Rawalpindi, wounding three military guards, the spokesman said.

The attacks came amid a state of emergency declared by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on November 3. He has called the measure necessary to counter rising tensions and terrorism.

His opponents, however, say he used the measure to suspend the constitution, fire the country's Supreme Court justices and solidify power. E-mail to a friend

All About Pakistan