An Islamic militant blew himself up at Lahore High Court in Pakistan, killing 24 others and wounding dozens in the first major attack in Pakistan since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
The blast was a reminder of the security threats facing the country ahead of Feb. 18 parliamentary elections.
At least 20 suicide bombers have struck the past three months in attacks that killed 400 people, many of them from the security forces, causing the most intense period of terror strikes here since Pakistan allied with the U.S. in its war against al-Qaida and other extremist terrorist groups in 2001.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf blamed the same militants for the Dec. 27 gun and suicide bomb attack that killed Bhutto.
Police experts estimated the bomb contained up to 30 pounds of explosives.
Bhutto's husband and political heir, Asif Ali Zardari, said the attack was further proof the president had "miserably failed" to maintain law and order.
The attack came on the eve of the Islamic month of Muharram, which is often marred by bombings and clashes between Pakistan's Sunni Muslim majority and its Shiite minority.
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