U.S. consulate attacked in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Islamist militants unleashed a car bomb and grenade attack against a U.S. consulate in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing four people and striking back after months of American missile strikes against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the region.

Hours earlier, a suicide bomber killed 45 people and wounded more than 70 at a rally by a secular political party in the northwest that has supported recent Pakistani army offensives in the region close to Afghanistan, where the United States is battling a related insurgency.

The attacks follow a lull in violence since the beginning of the year, illustrating the militants' resilience.

The multi-pronged strike against the consulate in Peshawar city was the first direct assault on a U.S. mission in the country since 2006. Officials said the four attackers in two vehicles hoped to breach the heavily fortified compound and kill people inside, but they failed to do that and caused only minor damage.

They detonated their first suicide vehicle at a checkpoint some 20 meters (yards) from the entrance to the consulate, said Peshawar police chief Liaquat Ali Khan. The second vehicle, which was carrying a larger amount of explosives, was stopped at another security barrier some 15 meters (yards) from the entrance, he said.

"The driver had no option, but to detonate the vehicle right there," said Khan.

The second blast killed two militants wearing suicide vests who were walking ahead of the pickup truck, said Khan.

Some officials and witnesses reported a third or possible fourth explosion. The blasts, some of which were filmed by local television stations, sent huge mushroom clouds over the city. One piece of footage showed a bomb exploding several meters (yards) from two people who had their arms raised in the air as if surrendering.

In Washington, a White House spokesman condemned the blasts.

The style of the attack — multiple suicide bombs and attackers with conventional weapons — has become an increasingly common one both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The attackers who fired at the consulate were wearing security uniforms, another tactic insurgents have used in both countries to slip into guarded areas, said a Pakistani intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.