Islamabad, Pakistan: November 2, 2009 - IR Summary/TNN - 

A suicide bomb blast took place at Pakistan's Military HQ in Rawalpindi on Monday killing around 30 people of whom most of them were military officers, and it wounded many dozens.
 
The explosion occurred just few hundred meters away from the entrance of the Army Headquarters and close to a bank and a hotel (Shalimar hotel) on the Mall Road in the heavily guarded Rawalpindi city.

As a result of this blast, the HQ area was put to a 22-hour siege by militants last month. According to police officials, Monday's attack came when a suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated his explosives outside a crowded bank.

Many people, including serving and retired military officials and pensioners, who had come to a state-run National Bank near the Shalimar hotel to collect their salaries and pensions were among the dead and injured. The Rawalpindi police chief, Rao Muhammad Iqbal, told media that around 22 people had been killed in the attack but hours later several TV stations were quoting a figure of 29.

Soon after the attack, the military personnel cordoned off the area and diverted traffic from the road in front of the hotel. All hospitals in Rawalpindi declared an emergency as rescue services rushed to help the dead and injured. Schools across the city were also closed. The explosion was so intense it destroyed window panes of the several nearby buildings.

Raja Sajid, an eye witness who rushed to the scene said that he saw nearly 20 people, dead and dozens of others wounded, adding several of them were in military uniforms.

"I helped the rescuers and put several of them in the ambulances. An old man stained in blood was crying for help" he said. Citing the ongoing violence across the country, the United Nations announced on Monday that it was pulling international staff from the north-west Pakistan. In a statement, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that the decision had been taken keeping in mind the intense security situation in the region. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on the Taliban, who have taken credit for a series of attacks since early October. The militants have said the strikes will continue until the military pulls back from the south Waziristan tribal area.