At least 28 people were killed and 170 injured in two devastating suicide car bombings that destroyed the federal headquarters of Pakistan’s premier probe agency and a house near PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari’s residence here today.

Hours later, gunmen opened fire at a passenger train, killing four persons and injuring three others, police said.

President Pervez Musharraf condemned the attacks, saying such “acts of terrorism cannot deter the government’s resolve to fight the scourge with full force”. He said those behind the attacks would be brought to justice.

The blast that ripped through the seven-storey office of the Federal Investigation Agency located on Temple Road at 9.23 am killed at least 24 people and injured scores.

Over 100 FIA employees had already reported for work when the blast occurred. FIA Director General Tariq Parvez said 16 employees of the organisation were killed.

Walls, stairs and columns collapsed as several of the lower floors were reduced to rubble. The terrorist strike comes a week after the attack on a naval college in the city.

Officials said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who drove a van packed with over 60 kg of explosives through the gate and rammed into the wall of the FIA office before blowing himself up. The attacker’s severed head was found by police and sent for DNA tests.

The blast, which created a five-foot deep crater, also damaged several nearby buildings, including the office of the Pakistan Olympic Association and a school run by a Christian organisation. Many students of the school were injured.

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