HABQADAR, Pakistan — A pair of Taliban suicide bombers attacked paramilitary police recruits heading home for a break after months of training, killing 80 people yesterday in the first declared act of retaliation for the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
In claiming responsibility, the al Qaeda-linked militant group cited anger at Pakistan’s military for failing to stop the American incursion on their soil.
“We have done this to avenge the Abbottabad incident,” Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said by phone. He warned that the group was also planning attacks on Americans living in Pakistan.
At least 80 people were killed, including 66 recruits, and around 120 people were wounded, said police officer Liaqat Ali Khan.