Bomb in Pakistan's Rawalpindi kills at least one

By Faisal Mahmood

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a bus carrying workers from a nuclear facility and blew himself up in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, killing at least one other person, police said.

Pakistan has been hit by a wave of bombings in recent weeks in response to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwest of the country, but Thursday's was the closest to the capital since the launch of the offensive.

Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, is home to the headquarters of the Pakistani army and other state agencies.

Two other attacks in the country's northwest killed three people.

The city's police chief had originally told reporters that up to six people had been killed in the Rawalpindi blast, but he later revised that figure down.

"I was at the spot and was told the toll was five to six, but later we checked with hospitals and they confirmed one dead and 29 wounded," Nasir Durrani told reporters.

Senior police officer Rao Iqbal said the bus was carrying workers from a main nuclear facility, the Khan Research Laboratories.

Policemen at the scene shifted the mangled remains of a motorcycle from beside the bus, which had its windows blown out. Another policeman carried a plastic bag, apparently containing bits of human flesh.