Suicide bomb kills 26 people

On 5 April 2009 a suicide bomber staged an attack at a Shiite mosque in Chakwal, located south of Islamabad, killing 26 people. This was the third terrorist attack in Pakistan within 24 hours. In two separate incidents on 4 April, a suicide bomber attacked a security post leading to a paramilitary camp in Islamabad while another attacker drove his vehicle into a crowd of civilians in Miranshah, located in the tribal North Waziristan area. Reports indicate that at least eight soldiers were killed and many others injured when the first bomber detonated explosives at a back entrance into the Frontier Constabulary camp in Islamabad; eight people were also killed in the Miranshah attack. The Frontier Constabulary is a paramilitary wing of the Pakistani armed forces that is deployed to protect diplomats and government officials. A leader of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks in Chakwal and Islamabad and threatened to stage two attacks a week in Pakistan in retaliation for air strikes by U.S. drones targeting Islamic militants.