At least 20 killed after double suicide bombing in Pakistan

TWO massive suicide bombs ripped through a police headquarters and a house in Pakistan, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 150.

The two blasts happened about 15 minutes apart in different districts of Lahore. The first tore the facade from the Federal Investigation Agency building as staff were beginning their working day. It also damaged scores of nearby homes.

City police chief Malik Mohammed Iqbal said an explosive-packed car was detonated next to the building.

The second explosion wrecked the office of an advertising agency in a residential area, about 15 miles away killing three people, two of them children. The attacks come amid a spate of violence that authorities are blaming on Taliban and al-Qaida militants, moving from their strongholds along the Afghan border.

Lahore has now suffered three attacks within two months. On January 10, a militant walked into a crowd of police guarding a courthouse and blew himself up, killing 24. Last week a double suicide attack in Lahore killed four people at a navy training college.

The Australian cricket team have postponed their tour of Pakistan following the bombings.