Lahore, Mar 11: At least 26 people were killed and over 170 injured in two massive suicide car bombings that destroyed the federal headquarters of Pakistan's premier probe agency and a house near PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari's residence here on Tuesday, a week after the attack on a naval college in the city.

A suicide attacker drove a van with about 65 kilograms of explosives into the compound of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) office located on Temple Road and blew himself up at 9.30 am local time, killing at least 22 people and leaving the seven-storey building in shambles, officials said.

Among the injured were several children whose school was near the FIA building. In the second near-simultaneous blast in the Punjab capital, two suicide bombers drove a pick-up truck into the compound of a house in Model Town residential area that had been rented by an advertising agency and blew themselves up. Bilawal House, which is owned by PPP co-Chairman Zardari, and the residence of Lahore city nazim Amir Mehmood are located in the vicinity of the house that was attacked.

Besides the two bombers, the blast in Model Town killed two children of the gardener who worked at the house. It created a seven-foot crater and smashed windows of buildings within a radius of 100 metres, witnesses said. Two persons, including the gardener, were seriously injured in the blast, said police officer Azmat Gondal. "...We do not know as yet why this house was targeted."

The federal government sounded an alert across the country and directed provincial authorities to step up security at airports, railway stations, commercial areas, government buildings and other key installations. Last week, two suicide bombers targeted the Navy's War College on Mall Road, killing seven persons.

India worried over Pak situation

New Delhi: As twin blasts rocked Pakistan, India on Tuesday said it was worried over the situation there and expressed the hope that the new government will be able to restore normalcy. "We are worried over it," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters when asked to comment on the situation in Pakistan in the wake of latest blasts. He expressed the hope that the new government in Pakistan would be in a position to restore normalcy and "the fight against terror launched by the government would be further strengthened." At least 26 people were killed and over 170 injured in two massive suicide car bombings in Lahore that destroyed the federal headquarters of Pakistan's premier probe agency and a house near PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari's residence.