A cell phone blocker saved his ass. No "Suicide Bombers" here. This is the local "Islamist" crowd. And they have somebody in his entourage feeding them info.
officials said high-tech jamming devices in the president's motorcade had delayed the device and saved his life.
December 25, 2003
Assassination Attempt on Musharraf Kills 7 in Paskistan
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:50 a.m. ET
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A suicide bomb exploded moments after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's motorcade passed Thursday, the second assassination attempt against him in less than two weeks, officials said. Musharraf was unhurt but at least seven people were killed.
The bombing in Rawalpindi, outside the capital, occurred near where a huge bomb exploded on Dec. 14 shortly after a convoy with Musharraf drove by. He was unhurt in that attempt as well, and officials said high-tech jamming devices in the president's motorcade had delayed the device and saved his life.
Thursday's blast happened when a suicide bomber rammed a pickup truck into a police vehicle. Eyewitnesses reported seeing body parts, shattered cars and broken glass along the route.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press that the attack appeared to have been aimed at Musharraf, and that the Pakistani leader was safe.
``The president's motorcade had just passed and about half a minute later the explosion went off,'' one eyewitness, Nasir Sadiqi, told Pakistan's Geo television.
The Interior Ministry said seven people were killed. Witnesses said they saw body parts and some reported hearing two separate explosions. Several cars were destroyed and windows from nearby buildings were shattered.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdur Rauf Chaudry said the dead were apparently passers-by. Fourteen people were wounded including two policemen, he said.
There was no immediate word on who carried out Thursday's attack. Officials have blamed the earlier assassination attempt on Islamic militant groups, though no major arrests have been made. Government officials have speculated that al-Qaida might have had a hand in the earlier attempt, which employed a sophisticated bomb hidden in five places on a bridge.
Security is always tight when Musharraf travels, with roads closed to allow his long motorcade to pass and heavily armed soldiers surrounding his vehicle. Security around the country was even tighter on Thursday as Pakistan's tiny Christian community celebrated Christmas.
The attack Thursday came a day after Musharraf agreed to step down as army chief by the end of 2004, ending a political stalemate that had paralyzed parliament and stalled this nation's return to democracy.
Under the agreement reached with a coalition of hardline Islamic parties, Musharraf would remain as president but give up the army post. Musharraf also agreed to scale back several extraordinary powers he had decreed himself after taking power in a 1999 coup.
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press |
