Suicide blast hits Pakistan bus

Several vehicles were damaged in the blast Enlarge Image

At least six people have died in a blast which hit a military bus in the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi.

A military spokesman told the BBC that a suicide bomber riding a motorbike had rammed into the bus.

Over 20 people are reported to have been injured in the attack, which took place during the morning rush hour.

A series of suicide bomb attacks have hit Rawalpindi in the last year. In December opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed at a rally there.

Authorities have blamed Taleban militants based near the border with Afghanistan for the attacks.

'Gigantic blast'

Several vehicles were reported to have been badly damaged and the bus destroyed in Monday's blast, which went off near the army headquarters.

Officials said the military had cordoned off the area.

The blast took place early on Monday in a crowded market area.

One witness, Haji Shaukat Khan, told the AFP news agency that he heard a "gigantic explosion".

"There was a big ball of fire and smoke. Some pellets from the bomb hit the wall of my shop and I dived down, because I was injured in the arm in another blast that happened at this spot last year," he said.

Rawalpindi has seen several such attacks in the past six months, which have claimed dozens of lives.

Almost all have been blamed by the government on pro-Taleban militants operating out of Pakistan's tribal region of Waziristan.