Musharraf narrowly escapes assassination attempt

[Aidoneus]

Musharraf narrowly escapes assassination attempt
by Phil Reeves
15 December 2003

Pakistani authorities were last night investigating whether the country's military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, was the target of an assassination attempt after a bomb detonated on a road minutes after his motorcade passed.

The explosion happened about a mile from the Islamabad International Airport as the president was returning home after a visit to the southern city of Karachi. Witnesses said the blast occurred at a bridge close to a military compound. Sheharyar Khan, whose car was stopped at a roadblock shortly afterwards, said: "As the president's motorcade passed, a huge explosion blew up the bridge."

A military spokesman, Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, said Mr Musharraf was "safe and sound". He said it was a "terrorist act", but only an investigation would determine whether it was aimed at the Pakistani leader.

However, another official confirmed that the president, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, was the target of the bomb. An Interior Ministry official told the Associated Press: "Definitely, definitely, it was meant for President Musharraf."

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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=473341

[bemildred]

1. Purely coincidental, I'm sure. nt