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| Senior Officers Killed in Attack Near Pakistan’s Capital | Senior Officers Killed in Attack Near Pakistan’s Capital |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Two senior army officers and three civilians were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber ambushed a vehicle carrying security forces near the Pakistani capital, according to a military spokesman. | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Two senior army officers and three civilians were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber ambushed a vehicle carrying security forces near the Pakistani capital, according to a military spokesman. |
| In the attack in Rawalpindi, next to the capital of Islamabad, the bomber hurled himself at a double-cabin pickup truck near a railway intersection, killing two lieutenant colonels in the Pakistani Army along with the three civilians. | In the attack in Rawalpindi, next to the capital of Islamabad, the bomber hurled himself at a double-cabin pickup truck near a railway intersection, killing two lieutenant colonels in the Pakistani Army along with the three civilians. |
| “It is a targeted attack. There is no doubt about it,” said a senior security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. | “It is a targeted attack. There is no doubt about it,” said a senior security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. |
| Since the pickup truck did not have the green markings of a military vehicle and could pass as a civilian one, the attack raised the possibility that the assailants had inside information that it “was carrying army officers,” the security official said. | |
| There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Pakistani Taliban insurgents have, in the past, repeatedly claimed responsibility for attacks directed at security forces and government installations. | |
| The attack comes at a time when peace talks between Taliban insurgents and the Pakistani government have almost broken down. Last month the Pakistani military mounted strikes by fighter jets and ground troops in a part of North Waziristan, a haven for foreign and local militants. | The attack comes at a time when peace talks between Taliban insurgents and the Pakistani government have almost broken down. Last month the Pakistani military mounted strikes by fighter jets and ground troops in a part of North Waziristan, a haven for foreign and local militants. |
| Since then, security officials have been bracing for reprisal attacks, and security forces have been on high alert in Islamabad and in provincial capitals. | |
| A rapid response force comprising police troops and paramilitary soldiers has been set up to patrol Islamabad. | A rapid response force comprising police troops and paramilitary soldiers has been set up to patrol Islamabad. |
| But on Tuesday, two police officials with the unit were wounded when their vehicle was shot at in Aabpara, a busy marketplace in central Islamabad. There was no claim of responsibility, and the gunman managed to escape easily after the attack. |