Suicide bomber strikes in Pakistan, six killed

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the early morning strike in Peshawar, and promised more attacks as they and other al-Qaeda affiliated groups seek to avenge Osma bin Laden's killing.

A view of destruction caused by a suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden pickup truck leveled a police building in northwest Pakistan Wednesday, killing five officers and wounding 30 other people in the latest attack to rattle the country since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

Pakistani security personnel continue to bear the brunt of terrorists' vengeful mood with a suicide bomber ramming an explosives-laden vehicle into a police building near an Army facility in Peshawar in a crack-of-dawn attack on Wednesday.

At least six persons were killed — five of them police officials — and 30 injured in the massive explosion which brought down the building located adjacent to a military compound, giving rise to speculation that the Army was once again the target of this Taliban attack.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and described it as one in a series of such strikes to avenge the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad earlier this month.

According to the police, at least 300 kg of explosive material had been packed into the vehicle. The three-storey building — which housed the Criminal Investigation Department — was flattened by the explosion.

The frequency and ferocity of terror attacks have increased in recent days with the first revenge attack taking place about 10 days after Osama was killed when two suicide bombers detonated themselves in quick succession at a training camp of the Frontier Constabulary, killing 90 people.

Then came the attack on a U.S. consulate vehicle in Peshawar, followed by the biggest attack so far on a military facility: The 17-hour siege of the Navy's airbase in Karachi in which two aircraft were also destroyed.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for all these attacks and analysts fear this would continue through summer as the terrorist outfits also need to keep up their own morale — crucial for the motivation of suicide bombers — and ensure fund flow in the post-Osama phase.