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RAWALPINDI,Pakistan-Powerful coordinated explosions set off by two suicide bombers jolted this garrison city near the capital early Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, including some from the country’s powerful intelligence agency, and wounding at least 68, government and military officials said. The brazen attacks took place within a mile of each other in the heart of Rawalpindi, a tightly guarded city that holds the headquarters of Pakistan’s military.The president, General Pervez Musharraf,survived two assassination attempts here in 2003.There were no immediate claims of responsibility.But the pair of blasts came at a time of great political tension.General Musharraf is facing one of the most serious political challenges to his eight-year rule as he seeks reelection.Meanwhile,the Pakistani military is battling militants sympathetic to the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the tribal areas straddling the border with Afghanistan.Javed Iqbal Cheema, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, confirmed that suicide bombers carried out both attacks, according to Pakistani news media. Mr. Cheema said the attacks were interconnected and related to the situation in the tribal areas.The first blast occurred at 7:15 a.m. in a neighborhood called Qasim Market. A bus loaded with security personnel, most in civilian clothes, stopped at a regular pickup point before it blew up, according to witnesses. Eighteen people died , according to Mr. Cheema.Many of the victims worked for the country’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, according to an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity and a witness.“One badly wounded person with burned clothes told me that he was from the I.S.I. as he lay near the bus,” said the witness, Imram Khan, who lives about 200 yards from where the bus exploded. “He told me to call the rescue police.”But the connection to the I.S.I. was not officially acknowledged.Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, a spokesman for Pakistani military, said only, “The bus belonged to one of the organizations working under the Ministry of Defense.”Mr. Khan described a scene of devastation. “The explosion was very loud,” he said. The roof of the mangled bus was ripped apart and windows were blown out.‘I saw nine dead bodies,” he said. “Four were lying in front of the bus. Body parts were scattered all over. A few intestines fell inside my house.”Security officials quickly cordoned off the area before towing off the bus through a crane.The second blast occurred 20 minutes later at a busy intersection lined with small storefronts in a neighborhood called Royal Artillery Bazaar. Seven people were killed there, according to the Pakistani Interior Ministry. Nine vehicles were badly damaged.Pools of blood lay scattered around the asphalt. Shards of glass were strewn about.A charred motorbike was parked nearby.Ball bearings and pieces of shrapnel pierced the walls and shutters of nearby stores....
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