Bicycle bomb blast kills three in Pakistan

A BICYCLE bomb exploded near a flyover in the central Pakistan city of Multan on Friday, killing three policemen and injuring others, including an anti-terrorism judge, police and hospital officials said.

Six policemen and two passers-by were also wounded by the remote-controlled device that appeared to target the judge's car, Inspector General of Police Mirza Mohammad Ali said.

'The bomb was planted on a bicycle and went off as the car of the judge, Mr Bashir Ahmed Bhatti, passed by,' he said.

'Judging by the impact of the blast, it appears to (have involved) very heavy explosives. I would call today's attack religious terrorism.'

Pakistan is in the midst of a security scare following a series of suicide bomb attacks that started after a military air strike in mid-January against compounds used by Al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters in the country's tribal lands, close to the Afghan border.

Intelligence officials have linked some of the attacks, that have killed nearly 50 people this year, to Islamist militants seeking to destabilise President Pervez Musharraf's government and weaken his resolve to confront the Taleban, Al-Qaeda and their allies.

REUTERS