Suicide bombers targeting a paramilitary brigadier have killed at least 20 people in the Pakistani city of Quetta, apparently to avenge the capture of an al-Qaeda leader, a security official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Pakistan's Taliban, who are close to al-Qaeda, often stage such attacks in their campaign against the US-allied government.
Al-Qaeda has been weakened by the killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces in Pakistan in May, and other setbacks including Pakistan's capture of Younis al-Mauritani in an operation announced on Monday, analysts say.
He has been described as a senior al-Qaeda leader who was plotting attacks against American and other Western targets.
The paramilitary Frontier Corps was involved in Mr Mauritani's capture in the southwestern city of Quetta, along with the military's spy agency.
"This (Wednesday's) attack has all the hallmarks of the Taliban. It seems to be revenge for the arrest of al-Mauritani," said a senior security official.
