Six dead in blast near Pakistan Army HQ in Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi, Oct 30 : A suicide bomb attack has killed at least six people and injured 11 near the Pakistan's Army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The blast occurred near a high-security area, which contains the Army headquarters and President Pervez Musharraf's office.

It was a suicide attack made by a pedestrian, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Local television channels said ambulances were rushing to the area where the blast was heard.

The location of the blast was a police checkpoint.

A man had approached the checkpoint on foot and detonated his explosives, the BBC reported.

Two policemen and a cyclist were among those killed by the explosion, along with the suspected bomber, according to a foreign news agency.

The eleven injured in the blast have been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi, reports said.

Katchehry Chowk and adjacent Ayub Park area have been cordoned off while the security has been further tightened in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Earlier, Railway Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed said three to four persons had been killed in the blast.

Rashid said that there were reports that up to three possible suicide attackers had managed to enter Rawalpindi and neighbouring Islamabad in recent days. (ANI)