Suicide bomb attack kills at least 80 in Pakistan

Suicide bombers in Pakistan blew themselves up outside a military training facility Friday, killing 80 people in an attack either designed to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden, or to retaliate against the Pakistani military for operating in tribal areas.

Police say two suicide bombers wearing explosives-laden vests targeted recruits who were leaving the training centre to travel home for a break.

The blast destroyed at least 10 vans that the recruits were boarding for the trip home.

The death toll is expected to rise, as more than 120 people were injured in the two successive explosions in Pakistan's northwest. Sixty-six of the dead were recruits.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after it occurred. Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesperson for the militant group, told The Associated Press the bombing was carried out in retaliation for the U.S. Navy SEAL strike that took out bin Laden on May 2, about a three-hour drive from where Friday's attack occurred.

"We have done this to avenge the Abbottabad incident," Ahsan said in a phone call.

Pakistan has faced criticism over the fact bin Laden -- who evaded capture for 10 years -- was hiding in a compound in Abbottabad -- a military city not far from the capital.

Bin Laden is believed to have lived there for up to six years and observers have questioned how his presence remained a secret for so long.

Ahsan said the attack was designed as punishment for Pakistani authorities for their failure to block the U.S. from carrying out the strike -- which it reportedly did without permission from Islamabad.

"Also, the Pakistani army has failed to protect its land," he said.

However, Pakistani officials said the bombing may instead have been a retaliation against its military for operating in tribal areas. The Pakistan Taliban has previously claimed credit for attacks it had nothing to do with.

Friday's bombing took place outside the main gate at the Frontier Constabulary, a front-line outpost in the battle against militant forces such as al Qaeda and the Taliban.

After the explosion, reports described an area littered with shards of glass mixed with flesh -- the result of bombs packed with ball bearings and nails, according to police.

"The first blast occurred in the middle of the road, and after that there was a huge blast that was more powerful than the first," Abdul Wahid, a 25-year-old recruit whose legs were wounded in the blasts, told AP.

He said the blast knocked him to the ground. After falling, he crawled along a wall until he reached the safety of a nearby shop.

More attacks expected

Alan Bell, president of Globe Risk Holdings Inc., a security-consulting firm, said he expects there will be "numerous" attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan over the next couple weeks -- but not in the West.

"It's easy for the Taliban. They've got the equipment, they've got the manpower inside Pakistan, ready to go into Afghanistan," he told CTV's Power Play.

"They can put up a very good raid very, very quickly with minimum amount of effort and time. To actually start committing terrorist attacks overseas is going to take them a significant time longer."

He said Canada has done a good job of boosting security and is "ahead of the game," because its intelligence services share information effectively.

"We here in Canada have been very fortunate in the last four years to prevent a serious terrorist attack from occurring, as a result of this liason between all our intelligence services," he said.

"Can we remain lucky? Time will tell."

But as the U.S. braced for the possibility of more attacks, Pakistani officials were forced to address lingering concerns that bin Laden was being sheltered.

While Pakistani military officials maintain that the nation has played an important part in the U.S. War on Terror since Sept. 11, 2001, Pakistan's intelligence chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha admitted "negligence" on the bin Laden hunt.

Bell, the security expert, said that links between bin Laden and Pakistani officials are apparent because the al Qaeda leader did not apparently have any escape plan.

Bell suggested that bin Laden felt comfortable in his compound and likely would have had a deal to be tipped off before any potential raids.

However, the U.S. kept Pakistan in the dark about the operation, suggesting bin Laden was likely caught unaware.

With files from The Associated Press