Twin blasts in Pak varsity kill 5, injure 40

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up near simultaneously at a prestigious Islamic university in Pakistani capital Islamabad on Tuesday, killing at least five persons and injuring over 40, the latest in a series of deadly terror attacks that have rocked the country.

The blasts occurred at the male and female campuses of the International Islamic University, considered one of the world's leading centres for studies in Islamic law, thought and history.

The first suicide bomber blew himself up at the cafeteria in the women's campus, killing a student and an employee of the university, witnesses said.

They said they had seen parts of the bomber's body stuck to the ceiling of the cafeteria.

The second bomber struck about five minutes later in the Shariah block of the male campus while a lecture was underway. Witnesses said three persons were killed in this explosion.

The two blasts also left over 40 people injured.

Wasim Khwaja, a doctor at the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, said the hospital had received two legs and a head. It is believed they belonged to one of the suicide attackers.

Khwaja said three of the 13 injured brought to the hospital were in serious condition.

More than a dozen ambulances rushed to the university to take the injured to nearby hospitals. The university is located near police offices and a residential neighbourhood.

Students from around the world study at the International Islamic University though it could not be ascertained if any foreigners were among the victims of Tuesday's attacks.

Police cordoned off the area as investigators scoured the area for clues.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks, though the Taliban, against which the army has launched a major offensive in Waziristan, is suspected to be behind a series of recent blasts in the country.

In the past two weeks, terrorists have carried out a numerous suicide bombings, blasts and attacks in Pakistan, including the storming of Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi and three synchronised attacks on law enforcement establishments in Lahore, leaving over 170 people dead.

Tuesday's blasts came four days after a suicide car bomber struck a police station in the NWFP capital Peshawar, killing 13 people.