Mosque frequented by militarymen

Rawalpindi : Three suicide bombers fired on worshipers then blew themselves up at a mosque near Pakistan's military headquarters after Friday prayers, killing 40 people, including many army officials, police said.

The mosque is frequented by military officials in the town of Rawalpindi, home to Pakistan's military establishment and only a 30-minute drive from the capital Islamabad.

The brazen attack in what should be one of the most secure areas of Pakistan was the latest challenge by militants against the writ of the state. A local television station said people were executed in cold blood.

Pakistan is fighting Taliban fighters blamed for bombings that have killed hundreds of people since an offensive was launched on their stronghold South Waziristan in October.

The country faces mounting US pressure to root out militants operating along forbidding border areas to help in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"They were three. They first opened fire and then blew themselves up," Rao Iqbal, Rawalpindi police chief, said.

Witness accounts

Witnesses said earlier that attackers hurled grenades then opened fire on the mosque. A policeman said the militants arrived in a grey Toyota car.

The cleric had just finished his sermon with the phrase "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) when an explosion shocked worshippers in the Parade Lane mosque.

"As soon as we finished prayers, I heard a blast and firing. I saw some wounded laying in the courtyard of the mosque," said Bakhtawar Hussain.

The violence will pressure President Asif Ali Zardari to do more to neutralise the threat from the stubborn Taliban insurgency.

But he is an increasingly unpopular figure who has been at odds with the all-powerful military, which sets national security policy.

"There is a possibility that some of them may still be hiding in the vicinity," said military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas.

Prior incident

It was the second brazen assault on the area since October, when suspected Taliban gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked the army compound, killing three hostages and two army commandos.

"Initial information indicates that they were two to three attackers who entered the mosque by scaling a wall," senior police official Eslam Tarin said of Friday's attack.

He said 40 people were killed and 26 wounded.

A helicopter hovered over a wide avenue sealed off by security forces with G3 rifles, apparently searching for militants who may have fled after the attack.

In outlining his Afghanistan strategy in a speech on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama made a plea to Pakistan to fight the "cancer" of extremism and said Washington would not tolerate Pakistan allowing its territory to be a safe haven for militants.

That request may be unrealistic in a country where anti-US feelings and suspicions run high.

Many say Pakistan should not be fighting the United States's war against militants. Failure in Afghanistan could heavily damage Obama's presidency.

"This is not our war. This is America's war and as long as we continue to stay in the American bloc things will not change," said Rawalpindi resident Mujtaba Abbasi.