Rockets fired at Pakistan Military Academy

By IANS,

Islamabad: Nine rockets were fired at the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad, a town where Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was shot dead in his hideout in May last year.

Three of the nine rockets hit the outer wall of the academy, where training is imparted to cadets who will become army officers. The academy is equivalent of West Point in the US and Sandhurst in Britain.

The attack took place in the town, which is just over 50 km from here, early Friday, hours after army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited it.

Imtiaz Hussain Shah, an official, said that no one was injured in the pre-dawn attack.

"Nine rockets were fired. Three rockets hit the boundary wall of the military academy and damaged it. No one was hurt in the attack," Geo News quoted Shah as saying.

"We have launched a search operation," he added.

The six other rockets landed in open fields near the outer wall.

BBC said that the attackers had fired several rocket-propelled grenades.

"It is the work of terrorists," Shah said, adding that security is always on high alert in the area due to sensitive installations there.

It was not yet known who carried out the attack after General Kayani visited Abbotabad, in connection with the Commanding Officers' Conference, reported Xinhua.

An army statement said the Commanding Officers' Conference Thursday was a formal event for interaction between unit commanders and senior officers.

US commandos had gunned down Osama who was hiding in a mansion that was located not far from the military academy. The Al Qaeda chief's killing deep within the country had left the Pakistani military embarrassed.