Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Suicide blasts kill five in Pakistan university

RIA Novosti

17:59 20/10/2009 MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) - At least five people died and dozens were wounded on Tuesday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Islamic University in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

The blasts went off with a five minute interval at the male and female campuses of the university, the Press Trust of India said.

The news agency quoted witnesses as saying a student and an employee of the university were killed in the first blast, while the second claimed three lives. According to the agency, over 40 people were wounded as the result of the attacks.

The Pakistani Dawn TV channel quoted the Interior Minister Rehman Malik as saying six people, including the two suicide bombers, died in the blasts.

The bombing followed a large-scale offensive by Pakistan's military against the Pakistan-based Taliban, which began on Saturday in the country's volatile South Waziristan province, near the Afghan border.

The assault comes after several days of regular militant attacks across the country, in which up to 150 people have died.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed legislation on Thursday providing Pakistan with $7.5 billion in aid over the next five years. Some of the funds are conditional on Pakistan fighting Taliban militants.