15th December, 2009, Islamabad

At least 40 people were killed when suicide attackers stormed the mosque frequented by military men near the Pakistan army headquarter in Rawalpindi spraying bullets on hundreds of Friday worshippers and hurling grenades before blowing themselves up.

DPA cited an eyewitness saying he had seen two gunmen wearing traditional dress and carrying backpacks, scale the mosque outer wall and lob three hand grenades before shooting people in the mosque’s courtyard. “Some other attackers were shooting inside the main mosque building but I could not see them.” He said. A second eyewitness, a retired major of the paramilitary troops, told DAWN television that the gunmen were much trained and well equipped. “From the terriost point of view, it is very successful operation their objective was to kill and get killed and they achieved. The terrorist held people from their hairs and shot them in a cold blooded manner. One terriost blew himself up on the ground floor of the mosque, while his colleagues lobbed four hand grenades.

In the aftermath, of the attack security was stepped up in a sprawling walled compound near the mosque that also houses residential blocks for servicemen and their families. Pakistan has stuck by series of attacks from the last few months, when the latest wave of violence was unleashed by the Taliban which is battling the army in rugged terrain of South Waziristan.