Passengers escape airport bomb blast in Pakistan

A briefcase bomb exploded at Islamabad's international airport yesterday, the first act of terrorism on Pakistani soil since its president, General Pervez Musharraf, gave his support to the attacks on Afghanistan.

The briefcase was identified as suspicious by security guards, who wrapped it in a blast-absorbing blanket and threw it into a concrete bomb bunker, where it exploded at around 1pm. A few nearby cars were damaged but nobody was hurt. Wires and circuitry were visible among the debris, and police on the scene speculated that it was a time bomb.

According to passengers in the VIP lounge, the briefcase was brought in by a man who waited for five minutes and then left. Several hundred people were in the lounge at the time of the explosion.

By last night no one had claimed responsibility for the bomb, but it was widely assumed that it was connected to Pakistan's support for the US-British attacks.

Ever since the bombing began a fortnight ago, President Musharraf has been vociferously criticised by pro-Taliban Muslims within Pakistan for supporting the coalition's military action and for making air bases available to US forces.

Thousands of people have burned effigies of George Bush and Tony Blair and vowed to support the Taliban in a jihad against the American attackers, in cities across the country.

Many international airlines have cancelled flights to Pakistan, and only official cars are allowed into the terminal proper. Despite the explosion, the airport remained open.