The explosion occurred at 7:15 am outside the gate of the army’s National Logistics Cell on a road connecting the Royal Artillery Bazar to the General Headquarters in the nearby garrison city.

“It was a suicide attack. A man on a motorcycle rammed into the bus,” a military official said.

The blast destroyed the bus carrying trainee doctors from the Army Medical College to the Combined Military Hospital and some other vehicles, turning them into a mangled heap of metal.

Eyewitnesses said at least eight people had died though police officials confirmed only five deaths. The military said four of its personnel, including an officer, died in the bombing, the first such attack since the December 27 killing of former premier Benazir Bhutto during an election rally in the city.

It is the seventh suicide attack to rock Rawalpindi in the last six months.

Red alert
A red alert was sounded across Punjab province following the blast, which came a day after security agencies directed police in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to tighten security.

The order was issued following reports that militants were planning to target the airport, military installations, political leaders and foreigners in retaliation for the anti-terror operations in Swat and South Waziristan.

A tarpaulin was put up around the skeleton of the bus before it was taken away from the site. Journalists and passers-by were sent away from the site as investigators scoured the area for clues.

Officials said the death toll could rise as several of the 30 injured were in a serious condition.

Besides the Combined Military Hospital, several other key army installations are located in the area around the General Headquarters.

The same area had witnessed two bomb attacks, including a suicide bombing on military bus, on September 4 last year. Nearly 30 people died in those attacks.

Seven people were killed in another suicide attack near President Pervez Musharraf’s military office on October 30.

Next targets
Meanwhile, a senior Pakistani official said an alert had been sounded across the Punjab province following reports that four suicide bombers had entered the region to attack targets in the provincial capital of Lahore and other areas.

Punjab Home Secretary Khusro Pervez said there were reports that the bombers intended to target “high-profile political leaders in southern Punjab” and security forces and police in Lahore.

600 bombers in Karachi
Karachi, PTI: As many as 600 suicide bombers are present in the port city of Karachi where they are planning to carry out a major attack, arrested militants of an al-Qaeda linked banned outfit told the police.

“Around 600 Jundullah militants are present in Karachi. They are trained to commit suicide attacks,” Qasim Toori and Talha, arrested on Jan 29, were quoted as saying by a source privy to the interrogation.