Taliban revenge

Pakistan's Taliban claimed their first major strike in revenge for Osama bin Laden's death on Friday, killing at least 80 people in a double suicide bombing at a paramilitary academy in the northwest of the country.

Around 140 others were injured in the blasts, 40 of whom were now said to be fighting for their lives.

"This was the first revenge for Osama's martyrdom. Wait for bigger attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan," Pakistan Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told the AFP news agency shortly after the attack.

Nisar Khan Marwat, the chief of the northwestern Charsadda district where the attack occurred, said the bombing targeted the paramilitary police as they were about to be bused home from the training center.

"The first suicide bomber came on a motorcycle and detonated his vest among the Frontier Constabulary (FC) men," Marwat said. "When other FC people came to the rescue to help their colleagues, the second bomber came on another motorcycle and blew himself up."

Marwat confirmed that 75 of the victims were paramilitary police, while the other five were civilians.

US calls for cooperation

The attack comes as Pakistan struggles to combat a virulent Islamic insurgency that has spread from the federally administered tribal regions on its border with Afghanistan to major urban areas such as the capital, Islamabad.

The Pakistani government, which immediately condemned the attack, has faced growing criticism from the United States for not doing enough to combat Islamic extremism.

The criticism comes after Washington located and killed Osama bin Laden in a compound located not far from a Pakistani military academy in the city of Abbottabad.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner condemned the suicide bombings as "heinous" and called for the two countries, which are facing strained relations, to continue their counterterrorism cooperation.

"It only highlights the existential threat that these kind of extremist organizations pose for Pakistan, and underscores why it’s so important that we continue to work together both on defeating and dismantling al Qaeda as well as its affiliates," Toner said.

International solidarity

Britain declared its solidarity with Pakistan in the aftermath of the lethal attacks.

In an official government statement, Foreign Secretary William Hague denounced the attacks as "cowardly and indiscriminate."

"These attacks [targeted] those who serve to protect Pakistan," he said.

"The UK is committed to standing with Pakistan in the fight against violent extremism, and we will continue to work with Pakistan to tackle this shared threat," the statement added.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences to the victims and their families.

"The United Nations stands by Pakistan in its efforts to combat terrorism, which continues to claim the lives of so many of its citizens," Ban said in a statement.

Author: Spencer Kimball, Darren Mara, Gabriel Borrud (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Matt Zuvela