Musharraf survives second assassination attempt in two weeks
Last Updated: Thursday, December 25, 2003 | 12:30 PM ET
CBC News
Musharraf was not injured in the attack, but the windshield on his armoured limousine was damaged.
Two suicide bombers detonated explosives hidden in pickup trucks as the president's motorcade passed two gas stations, a spokesman with Pakistan's chief of the army said.
The blast injured 46 people. Musharraf's vehicle continued to drive following the attack.
Pervez Musharraf
The bombs went off in Rawalpindi, outside the capital and in the same area where a bomb exploded Dec. 14 just after Musharraf's convoy drove by. He was not injured in that attack.
- FROM DEC. 14, 2003: Bomb attack narrowly misses Pakistan's president
Officials said high-tech jamming devices in the president's motorcade delayed that device and saved his life.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the assassination attempts.
Officials blamed the Dec. 14 attack on Islamic militant groups.
The attack comes a day after Musharraf made a deal with Pakistan's hardline Islamic opposition to step down as the country's military chief in 2004 and relinquish some of his special political powers
- FROM DEC. 24, 2003: Pakistan's president to step down as military chief
The agreement has been seen as a way to partially appease the Islamic opposition.
