Terror attack on Pak's N-airbase creates a scare

NEW DELHI: A fresh wave of terror hit Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 26 persons in all. Seven persons were killed and 13 injured when a suicide bomber riding a bicycle struck at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra.

The rogue neighbourhood saw suspected Taliban bombers attacking an upmarket restaurant in Peshawar and a bus ferrying a marriage party.

The audacious terror strike has raised concerns over the safety of Pakistan���s nuclear assets. The Kamra complex, Pakistan���s major air force maintenance and research centre, is mentioned as a possible place to keep planes that can carry nuclear warheads.

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said Pakistan should take effective steps to secure its nuclear assets.

The attack on the strategic Kamra base came nearly two weeks after the Taliban stormed army���s Headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, leaving 22 people dead. According to US intelligence think-tank Stratfor, the strike against the Kamra complex is likely to raise renewed concerns about the safety of Pakistan���s nuclear weapons.

Reports from Islamabad said a lone suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself at a checkpoint on a road leading to the complex, around 30 miles from the capital. Hours later, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a recreational facility in Peshawar, the main city in the northwest. Fifteen people were wounded. The facility includes a restaurant, a swimming pool, a health club and a marriage hall.

Soon after, reports emerged of the blast that struck the bus, which was traveling in the Mohmand tribal region. Four women and three children were among the 17 killed. Mohmand, like other parts of Pakistan���s tribal belt, has been a magnet for Taliban militants. The military has carried out operations there in the past aimed at clearing out insurgents.