TAXILA / RAWALPINDI, Aug 21: Two suicide bombers blew themselves up on Thursday at the gates of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in the high security town of Wah, killing at least

70 people in what was described as the deadliest attack on a military installation in the country’s history.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan of Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bombers blew themselves up outside two gates of the factory at 2.35pm when hundreds of workers were leaving after a shift change. Most of the victims were civilian workers.

The first explosion took place outside the main gate and it was followed by an equally powerful blast at gate No.1 located close to a bustling market.

Witnesses said the bombers were on foot and they exploded themselves within a minute of each other.

A factory worker, Hamid, said he had just boarded a bus when he heard a deafening sound of a blast, followed by another one about a minute later. “The area was littered with human limbs and the injured were screaming,” he said.The sound of the blasts was heard several kilometres away.

A spokesman for the POF put the death toll at 59.

Public Relations Officer

Tariq Mehboob told Dawn that a DSG guard was among the people killed.

However, Regional Police Officer Nasir Khan Durrani confirmed 70 deaths and said that 67 people had suffered medium to serious injuries.

He said no crater was seen at the place of the blasts and they appeared to be suicide attacks.

Security forces cordoned off the area and started rescue work.

The death toll could rise as 35 of the injured were in critical condition, hospital sources said.

POF Hospital Commandant Brig Arshad Zia said most of the injured were being treated in the burns unit.

Students of the POF Medical College rushed to help the hospital staff after the blasts.

Outside the hospital, relatives and friends were poring over lists of the casualties pasted on the doors. People unable to locate their relatives were not allowed to go inside.

Security personnel found a ‘suicide vest’ in the toilet of a nearby mosque and arrested a suspected suicide bomber, Hameedullah of Khyber Agency, from the Mall Road.

A team of the Special Investigation Group of the Federal Investigation Agency collected evidence from the site of the bombings, a security official said.

According to sources, law-enforcement personnel arrested three suspects. One of them was said to be “covering up” the suicide bombers. A belt filled with explosives was also found in a mosque, the sources said.

Security was put on high alert in the twin cities of Taxila and Wah cantonment where a large number of defence industries are located.

According to the regional police chief, those killed in the attack included Shams, Naseer, Arshad, Sami, Joseph, Riaz, Abbass, Ashaq, Zareef, Amir, Aabid, Arif, Kamran, Ijaz, Tariq, Abdul Razzaq, Jawad, Iqbal, Zahid, Wali Mohammad, Azmat, Amjad, Mohammad Hussain, Jameel, Shahfeeq, Ashraf,

Haq Nawaz, Abdul Rehman, Allah Rakha, Samiul Haq, Badar Munir, Ishtiaq, Ihsan, Siuraj, Naveed, Zahid, Younas, Dildar, Bilal, Shahzad, Sabir, Nasim, Naseer, Yaqub, Rashid, Khalid, Imran Basheer and Ali Akbar. He said some of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition.

An emergency was declared in government hospitals in Wah, Rawalpindi and Islamabad and reinforcement of police was likely to be called from Rawalpindi, about 40km from Wah.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the hospital with Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to inquire after the health of the injured.

Acting President Mohammedmian Soomro, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman condemned the attack.

Our correspondent in Khar adds: Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar claimed responsibility of the suicide attacks saying that they had been carried out in retaliation for military operations in Bajaur and Swat.

Talking to Dawn, he warned that such attacks would also be carried out in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Mardan, Bannu, Kohat and Swat.