RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — A Taliban suicide squad Friday targeted Pakistani military officers and their families praying at a mosque close to army headquarters in a gruesome display of the militants’ ability to strike at the center of power in this U.S.-allied, nuclear-armed nation.
The barrage of bombs and bullets left 37 people dead, including seven senior officers and 17 children.
The deaths of so many top brass inside a heavily fortified area a few miles from the capital was a major coup for the Pakistani insurgents, who are under pressure as the army pushes an offensive against their stronghold of South Waziristan along the Afghan border.
President Barack Obama thinks Pakistan is a key partner in the Afghanistan war, but critics contend that Pakistan, hedging its bets in the event the Taliban eventually regains power in Kabul, has held back against Afghan insurgents.
The attack on the mosque, which was largely reserved for military families, was the latest in a relentless Taliban onslaught against mostly military targets across Pakistan. It came nearly two months after the siege of the army headquarters Oct. 10, when insurgents held dozens hostage in a 22-hour standoff that left 23 people dead, including nine militants.
The attack began shortly after 1:30 p.m. when the assailants lobbed hand grenades to break through a checkpoint close to the mosque, said Yasir Nawaz, a police official at the scene. Witnesses said two of the militants then stormed the mosque, while others ran into buildings nearby.
They wore suicide belts under traditional baggy Pakistani clothes, lobbed grenades and sprayed automatic weapons at worshipers.
At least four militants took part in the attack. Security forces exchanged fire with the assailants for an hour, killing them or watching them blow themselves up.
