TEHRIK-e-Taliban commander Wali-ur-Rehman on Saturday claimed responsibility for Fridays deadly mosque bombing that killed at least 40,including a Major General,in Rawalpindi. In a phonecall to the BBC,the Taliban commander said that military officers in the mosque were primary targets of the bombing. The civilians killed in the attack were relatives of Army personnel and their deaths did not matter,he said,adding The Taliban will continue to target the Army. The Tehrik-e-Taliban also sent an e-mail to the CNN on Saturday claiming responsibility for the bombing. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the mosque packed with 150 men,women and children after the attackers lobbed grenades and fired indiscriminately into the gathering. We reconfirmed it,that the Tehrik-e-Taliban has done it,and will do more which are already planned, the group wrote in the e-mail. Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Saturday attended the funeral of military personnel killed in a terrorist attack on a mosque in Rawalpindi. The funeral prayer for six victims of the attack was also attended by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar,Interior Minister Rehman Malik,former Army Chief Gen (retired) Mirza Aslam Baig and Gen Tariq Majid,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. In a statement issued by the military,Gen Kayani said his forces are committed to defend,protect and preserve Pakistan at all costs. He said: We live and die for the glory of Islam and Pakistan. Our faith,resolve and pride in our religion and in our country is an asset,which is further reinforced after each terrorist incident. He reaffirmed his conviction in the will of the Pakistani nation to fight all odds. Pakistanis reacted with anger to Fridays attack with the media pointing out that the war against terrorism was far from over. Slaughter in Gods house was the headline of the front-page report in The News daily. The headlines in the Dawn and Daily Times newspapers clearly pointed the finger of blame at the Taliban,who have been blamed for most of the recent attacks targeting the security forces.
