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Monday, October 27, 2008

Asia


Car bomb kills 2 outside Pakistan family park

  • Story Highlights
  • Car bomb kills 2 outside park in southwest Pakistan popular with families
  • Attack took place in Quetta, capital of region seen as hotbed of insurgency
  • Death toll from a missile strike on South Waziristan compound rises to 20
  • Deaths from suicide bombing at security checkpoint in Mohmand Agency rise to 11
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A car bomb explosion in southwest Pakistan killed two people and wounded as many as 11 others outside a park popular with families Monday, police said.

Pakistani people gather beside burning vehickes on a street after a bomb blast in Quetta.

Pakistani people gather beside burning vehickes on a street after a bomb blast in Quetta.

The car, packed with 8 to 10 kilograms (17 to 22 pounds) of explosives, was parked outside the gate of Quetta's Liaqat Park, said Police Superintendent Qazi Abdul Wahid.

The impact destroyed several vehicles.

Quetta is the capital of resource-rich Balochistan province near the Afghan border where militants have been fighting a low-level battle for autonomy. The Afghan government believes key Taliban leaders may be hiding among them.

Pakistan has said the militants in Balochistan do not have links to Islamic hard-liners who have launched assaults in other parts of the country.

After the ruling Pakistan People's Party swept into power in February elections, it called for an end to military operations in Balochistan. It said it would work toward giving "maximum provincial autonomy" to the area.

Earlier, Pakistani military officials raised the death tolls in two Sunday attacks in the country's tribal region.

The death toll from a missile strike on a compound in South Waziristan rose from seven to 20, military sources said. And the death toll from a suicide bombing at a security checkpoint in Mohmand Agency went from four to 11, military sources said.

Also Sunday, another military source said an unmanned U.S. drone was suspected to have fired the missile in the South Waziristan incident.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said he had no comment on the report, and a CIA spokesperson also declined comment.

Two missiles were dropped on the compound in the village of Badar Sunday night, the source said. He did not want his name revealed because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The United States has in the past offered no comment on such strikes in Pakistan, citing policy.

Military officials have said South Waziristan is the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Beitullah Mehsud.

A Pakistani military source said a veteran Taliban leader, Haji Omar, was among those killed in the missile strike.

CNN's Reza Sayah, Zein Basravi and journalist Nasir Habib contributed to this report

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