Religion of Peace Strikes in Pakistan

Thu, Nov 1, 2007 at 8:29:48 am PDT

Eight more dead at the hands of a suicide bomber, but the Pakistani military took out 70 “militants:” Pakistan in turmoil as 78 die in fresh violence.

SARGODHA, Pakistan (AFP) - A suicide bomber on Thursday killed eight Pakistan air force personnel while 70 militants died in clashes, amid mounting fears that President Pervez Musharraf could declare emergency rule.

The violence continued on Thursday when a bomber rammed his motorcycle into an air force bus in the central city of Sargodha, killing eight officers and wounding 40 people, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said.

“It was a suicide attack and the target was the bus which was carrying the air force officials,” chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP.

Police found the bomber’s severed head while other pieces of his body were plastered to the exterior of the mangled bus at the site of the attack in Punjab province, witnesses said.

It was the second such blast this week in Pakistan. A suicide attack near Musharraf’s army office in Rawalpindi on Tuesday killed seven people, and police said it was tied to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network and the Taliban.